The Girl Who Lived: Elizabeth Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by Ciara Wynne
Summary: Elizabeth Potter grew up with her 'uncles' Remus and Sirius; Voldemort was killed that fateful night- for good. He didn't leave behind any Horcruxes, just an army of angry Deatheaters. Follow Liz through her first year of Hogwart's with Ginny, Seamus and Lorcan. Hogwart's beware! The Marauders' successors have arrived. Fem!Harry
1. Prologue

It was Halloween, the night it happened.

Maybe that's why James Potter didn't register the hooded figure walking through the crowd of trick-or-treaters as the former looked out the window of the small cottage. It was the night that muggles dressed up as people from his world, and the person could easily be the grim reaper, or something like that.

James felt a tug in his stomach, like something was off, but he put the feeling down to nerves. The Dark Lord had no way of knowing where he and his family were. Shaking his head, he turned away from the window and back to the living room, where his wife was playing with their daughter.

* * *

"PETTIGREW!" The door to the small flat was blasted off its hinges, crashing down the hall. Through the door stormed a handsome man with shaggy dark hair, and stormy grey eyes that flashed with anger and betrayal. This man was followed by another; this one had a thin, wiry, but strong frame, sandy hair, and eeiry blue-grey eyes. Normally, these eyes were filled with compassion and wisdom; but that night, the compassion was gone, replaced with stone cold fury.

The second man looked around the messy apartment, taking in the chaos, the smell of moulding food, the silence. He glanced at his companion. "Find him. No matter what. We need to know what Wormtail told_ him_. Think you could sniff him out with all this junk?"

The first one growled. "Remus, I could sniff him out in human form right now. He has hell to pay."

The two friends tore through the apartment like wolves looking for meat. Actually, one was like a wolf- the other was like a dog.

But then, Remus froze, his eyes on a work desk. "Sirius? I've found him. Or rather, what's left of him..."

Sirius bounded over and stopped short. There, next to a white Death Eater mask, on a piece of parchment, was a lump of flesh. And also on the parchment, was writing in a suspiciously deep red:

_Hello, my dear foes,_

_Peter was very useful to me, telling me your every move, managing to make himself Secret Keeper, then telling me the actual secret. I will put the information to good use, and the world will have one less blood traitor, mudblood, and spawn to worry about, will they?_

_V_

Remus and Sirius looked at each other in horror.

"James…" Sirius whispered.

"Lily…" Remus said at the same moment.

"Elizabeth!" they both seemed to wake up, and were quickly gone in a _POP_, leaving the index finger of Peter Pettigrew behind.

* * *

Halloween. The Eve of Hallows. Night of the Dead. Tom had always found that particular holiday... _amusing_. The muggles- filthy things- dressed in cloaks and purposefully shredded clothes, playing pretend, not knowing how close they are to the truth. In his dark cloak, Tom blended in with all the families laughing and throwing sweets at each other.

He knew exactly where to find them, thanks to Pettigrew; but after that, the pathetic excuse for a man was useless. No matter, it's not like anyone cared for him.

Tom walked up to the cottage, slowly lifting the latch on the gate. With a few non-verbal spells, the shields fell away at his touch, and suddenly the abandoned cottage had light in the windows. He could see a man with unkempt black hair, and Hazel eyes framed by round glasses. Next to him, was a beautiful red-head, laughing as she tickled a little infant. That infant. Tom bit back a snarl, and continued his walk down the path.

With a well-aimed jinx, the door burst open, and Tom could see the woman running up the stairs, infant in arms, husband steps behind her. The man was sending curses, body-binding charms, anything he could think of.

Tom lazily followed them up the stairs, blocking every spell, smiling at the mixture of fear, determination and 'courage' that was present on the man's face.

Suddenly, the woman made a downward motion with her wand, and the stairs beneath Tom disappeared. It was childish magic; he admitted it caught him off guard, and it gave the couple time to run ahead.

But Tom found them quickly enough. They were in the child's room, standing protectively in front of the cot. They were whispering to their spawn, but had stopped as soon as Tom was close to the door.

"Stay away from our daughter, Voldemort," Potter said, his wand level with Tom's heart. Tom sent a curse flying at the man's head. Potter ducked and so began a duel. But it didn't last very long, and the young man was sent flying into the wall.

"James!" screamed the mudblood.

"_Crucio_!" roared Tom as he pointed his wand at James Potter. He would kill them slowly, make each watch the other as their loved one was tortured. Then, he would deal with the child.

* * *

Sirius and Remus knew that they were too late as they ran up the stairs of the cottage. They turned the corner in time to see their best friend and his wife, lying motionless on the floor, and the Dark Lord point his wand at the baby's head.

"No!" Sirius yelled, leaping towards the nursery. But he was too far away.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" screamed Voldemort, and the room was filled with a brilliant white light, a deafening boom... Then nothing. There was a big crack in the opposite wall, and a slumped body dressed in black.

Sirius and Remus raced over to the cot. There, sitting there in a daze, was their 'niece' and Sirius' goddaughter, Elizabeth Potter- alive.

Sirius gasped and picked the little child up, holding her tightly. But then he heard something that almost made him swear he was dreaming.

"Padfoot. Moony..."

Sirius and Remus turned to James and Lily Potter staring at them, James' hand stretched towards the other two Marauders. There were gashes on their hands and face, burns and blistering sections of skin, but somehow, they found the strength to talk.

Remus rushed over, pulled out his wand, and started mending the cuts.

"Remus..." Lily protested. "It's too late."

"No. The two of you will live. You have a daughter to take care of."

"You can't heal us, Remus."

"No we can-"

"The Cruciatus Curse, Moony," James interrupted weakly. "Thirty times on each of us. _The Cruciatus Curse_."

Sirius stood there in shock, Elizabeth in his arms. They were dying. Two of his three best friends were dying.

Elizabeth wriggled and let out a cry, reaching towards her parents.

"Sirius," Lily breathed shallowly. "Let me see her."

Without a word, he knelt down in front of the beautiful redhead, and held the little one year old out to her.

Lily took her daughter and held her close. "My sweet baby girl," she whispered, tears pouring down her cheeks. James wrapped an arm around them, also silently crying. Their tears seemed silver in the moonlight. Silver...

"Padfoot," Remus spoke up. "Vials."

Sirius looked at his friend like he was mentally deranged, but conceded. Remus grabbed the two vials, and with them, caught the tears, James' in one, Lily's in the other. "Memory tears," Remus replied to Sirius' questioning look.

Suddenly, James' hand shot out and grabbed Sirius' arm. "You will take care of her," he said forcefully. "You will raise Elizabeth, and you'll protect her. Be the father that I will never have the chance to be."

"But don't let her forget us," Lily interjected. "And if any of this draws attention, don't let her ego swell like this one's." She feebly poked her husband. "Be her uncles, her godfather. Don't let her forget."

Sirius' and Remus' eyes became blurred. "We will. We promise."

James and Lily kissed their daughter's forehead, whispering comforting words and goodbyes. Then James clasped both their hands. "Remember- Marauders... forever..."

And his hand went slack. Lily's grip on Elizabeth loosened as her eyes fluttered closed. Sirius and Remus hung their heads as the child looked at her motionless parents, and started to cry.


	2. Potter Manor

**I do not own Harry Potter or the characters. All rights go to JK Rowling.**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**

**Chapter 1**

Elizabeth Potter lived with her uncles Remus and Sirius, otherwise known as Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot. In truth, she wasn't actually related to them; but they had been her father's best friends, and Sirius was her godfather. Her parents had died when she was barely one, protecting her from the Dark Lord. Soon after her parents' death, Voldemort was killed, though Elizabeth hadn't been told how. But she'd been taken into the care of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, and raised in Potter Manor.

Sometimes, Sirius or Remus would stare at her and see their best friends in the little girl. Elizabeth was the picture image of her mother- vibrant green eyes, creamy soft skin- which tended to have a light coating of dirt- a slender figure (even as a ten-soon-to-be-eleven year old) and fiery red curls- she'd also inherited her mother's brains, her father's too, and most likely, when she was at school, his talent on a broom. Unfortunately, she also got her father's ego, personality, and love of pranks. And growing up with Sirius Black didn't make that any better.

For example, Remus woke up one particular day from an afternoon nap with blue hair, red teeth, and pink nails.

"SIRIUS MARCUS BLACK AND ELIZABETH ROSANNA POTTER!" he roared. He wasn't normally one to lose his temper, but this was the third prank in the space of five days. It was ridiculous.

He stormed downstairs to where his best friend was eating fruit, sitting atop of the kitchen island. Sirius almost choked on his apple when he saw Remus' new look.

"Wow! What happened to you?"

"Take a wild guess," growled Remus.

Sirius looked impressed. "My pupil is improving. I'm so proud."

"You didn't have anything to do with this?"

"Moony, if I'd pranked you, it would've been last night, and you'd be hanging from a tree butt-naked. Lizzie's not ready for the teenage marauder pranks."

"I didn't know she even knew that nail polish existed."

"She doesn't. She used paint, like she did with the hair."

"And the teeth?"

"Food colouring." Remus sighed, relieved. "... I think." That didn't make him feel any better.

"Where is she?"

"Outside. You know how she is."

Even with blue hair, red teeth, and pink nails, Remus couldn't help smiling. "Never a doubt that she's Lily and James' kid."

* * *

Liz sat in a tree, talking to her locket. This may have been a strange habit for anyone else, but the locket contained a picture of her parents, Lily and James Potter. Liz couldn't remember them entirely; just a laugh, a hug, the trace of a smile, sparks flying out of a wand for her entertainment, the feeling of someone stroking her hair...

But talking to the painting was easier. It was a wizard painting, one that moved. It was like she hadn't lost her parents when she was barely a year old.

"Thought you'd be here."

Liz smiled over her shoulder at her godfather. "Hey. How's Uncle Moony this fine July afternoon?"

Sirius chuckled. "Slightly grumpy. You know he's not a morning or afternoon person in the summer. Especially when he wakes up with blue hair."

Liz grinned. "I would've done it magically, but it seemed more fun to do it the Muggle way."

Silence.

"Alright, what's up?" Sirius swung himself up onto a lower branch.

"What?" Liz examined her scruffy trainers.

"You know what. Three pranks in five days? That's a lot in one space of time. The best prankers space out. So something's bothering you."

Liz sighed. "Uncle Padfoot, how did you feel when you turned eleven?"

Sirius grinned. "Ecstatic. I was going off to one of the best wizarding schools in the world, and there was a whole new group of people to prank. But between you and me, Liz? I was terrified."

Liz stared at her godfather. It was a joke. It had to be. Sirius Black didn't do terrified.

"My entire family had been in Slytherin for as long as I could remember. But I didn't think like my family. I was the black sheep, which is kind of ironic, considering the name and the magic they practise." he chuckled. "But hey; I went on that train, wore the Sorting Hat, went through Hogwarts in the House of my family's enemies, and look at me now! I turned out alright, eh?"

"Meh." Liz teasingly made a 'so-so' motion with her hand, and was almost shoved out of the tree. She hopped down, yelling "child abuse!" at Sirius, before running in the direction of the manor.

Potter Manor sat on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow, a large mansion once owned by Charlus and Elizabeth Potter (the latter Liz's namesake) her grandparents. James had grown up here as a child, and it seemed that Liz was following in his footsteps.

One of Liz's favourite aspects of the massive property were the grounds. The grass was never overgrown, thanks to the house elves, with lovely flowerbeds scattered around the front 'lawn'. Out back, the grass was wild and untamed- perfect for kids to mess around in. Liz could spend hour after hour lazing about in the grass, staring up at the clear sky or messing around with Sirius. She wanted to fly a broom and though Sirius was all for it, Remus could unfortunately say no to the puppy-dog eyes.

As she neared the door, she could hear paws thudding on the ground behind her. Quickly glancing over her shoulder, she saw a great black hound- otherwise known as Padfoot. Sirius was an Animagus, a wizard who could turn into a particular animal. Her father had been a stag, and another friend that her uncles wouldn't name, had been a rat. The animal was to show the nature of the witch/wizard, and Liz had always dreamed about being able to turn into an animal.

She burst through the door and ran through to the kitchen. Remus was pulling various things out of the cupboards and talking to Slightly, the head elf.

"Hey, Uncle Moony. Not looking that blue compared to after your nap."

Remus glared mockingly (partially) at his adoptive niece. "You're lucky it's your birthday tomorrow." The paint had come out, leaving only a light tinge to his sandy hair. His teeth were no longer red, and his nails had returned to their original colour.

Just then, Sirius skidded into the room. "Good day to all! What's for dinner?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "You were eating when I woke up."

Sirius waved his hand dismissively. "Appetiser."

The three were laughing as they walked to the dining room and sat down. Dinner was always noisy, even though they were few. At least two of them would be having a debate over silly little things, while the other would look on in amusement. That evening, it was Quidditch teams.

"The Chuddley Cannons will come out on top this year, I bet my life savings on it." Sirius slammed a hand on the table.

"Black, that's what you say every year," Remus retorted playfully. "No, it will be Puddlemere United. They whipped your team's butt three leagues straight- and the Cannons never make it to the final."

"It's different this time. I feel it in my bones!"

"Oh, since when did you take Divination at school, Padfoot?"

"Lizzie," (only Sirius could get away with that) he addressed his goddaughter, "tell Loony-bin over here that he's wrong."

Liz grinned. "Uncle Moony's wrong..." Sirius grinned triumphantly at his best friend, "... As are you, Uncle Padfoot. The Holyhead Harpies will destroy both of you!"

This sparked the argument all over again, until Remus saw the time on the grandfather clock.

"Liz, you need to get to bed. The birthday girl needs her sleep."

Liz frowned. "But-"

"Liz."

She deflated. "Fine." She made it through the door and halfway up the grand staircase before yelling, "The Harpies are the champions!"


	3. That Letter

**I do not own Harry Potter or anything you recognise. All rights go to JK**

**A/N: Sirius and Remus are NOT a gay couple. I have nothing against homosexual relationships, but these guys aren't. Just so you know.**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**

**Chapter 2 **

Liz woke up the next morning with the feeling she was missing something. In fact, she was in and out of the bathroom, and half-dressed before she remembered.

It was her birthday.

She was eleven.

She was bounding down the stairs thirty seconds later, and skidding into the kitchen... where she was promptly tackled to the ground.

"Happy birthday Lizzie!" yelled her godfather.

Liz could hear Remus laughing in the background. "Uncle Padfoot, you're crushing my ribs!" she shouted.

Sirius leaped to his feet, pulling Liz up with him. "You're eleven!" he continued yelling, spinning her round and round. "You've started the great journey to be an awesome witch! Our baby's growing up," he started sniffing dramatically. "Remus, our baby's going to face the world."

Liz rolled her eyes at her godfather's extravagance. Remus had said that Sirius had matured since their teenage years. If this was maturity, she didn't even want to think about the things his fellow classmates had suffered through.

Remus approached Liz less roughly. He hugged her, saying, "Happy birthday, Liz."

Then Sirius began dragging her towards the dining room, shouting about presents and birthday breakfast. His enthusiasm was obviously infectious, for Liz was a bundle of insane energy by the time they reached the table. Plates were piled high with pancakes, lemon juice, sugar, chocolate spread, the works. You'd think that all that sugar would make a child fatter than an ogre, but Sirius and Remus weren't too worried. Liz didn't do weight gain. She was like a toothpick.

There was a little pile of presents in the centre of the table, from family friends. Liz tore through the wrapping like a hurricane. There was a book filled with prank recipes invented within the dark mind of Sirius Black, a _Weird Sisters_ CD and t-shirt from Tonks, a new Holyhead Harpies poster (_signed by Gwenog Jones!_) from Remus, as well as a card and photo from the Aurors at the ministry (they knew her through Sirius, Remus and her parents). But there was one more, wrapped in red paper and a gold ribbon, and a present tag in the shape of a Snitch. Liz flipped the tag over:

_Happy Birthday, Elizabeth_

_We know that if you're reading this particular present tag, then you have reached your eleventh birthday without us. We're sorry that we left you so soon, but know that we love you, and we have every belief that you will grow up to do great things. We couldn't be more proud of our girl._

_Your dad was given this by his own father when he was young, who was given it by his father before that, and his before that, and so on. His uses of it were not always exactly within the rules-_

Liz smiled at that.

_-but it was a great asset. Use it well._

_We love you, _

_Mum and Dad xxx_

Liz instinctively looked at the portrait of her parents on the dining wall. There was a picture of them in every room (apart from the bathrooms and bedrooms). In each painting, the background was a replica of the respective room, minus its occupants. Only one Lily and one James had been painted, and they could go between the paintings.

Liz pulled away the gold ribbon and gently tore open the paper. She looked at the contents. Then at Remus, who smiled secretively. Then at Sirius, who was smirking. Then back to her present from her dead parents.

It was a large cloak, with a hood as well. Judging by the size of it, it was designed for a full-grown wizard. It was a dark colour, one that your eyes skip over absent-mindedly.

"Well?" demanded Sirius after a few moments of silence. "Try it on!" He was almost visually buzzing with excitement.

"It's just a cloak," Liz muttered, but she knew better. Anything given to her from her parents in the beyond had to be important. She lifted up the cloak and swung it around her shoulders, fastening the clasp. She could feel the cloth shifting, altering... shrinking. The cloak's hem shortened to a length where it barely brushed the floor, not showing her feet. The cloak fit around her figure more snugly, outlining her thin figure. Well, this is what Liz assumed, seeing as she couldn't see her body.

"_Arrgh_!" Liz yelled, her head (the only visible part of her) spinning around, trying to locate the rest of her body. "Sirius! Remus! My body! Where is it?!"

Sirius was rolling on the floor, his body racked with laughter at his goddaughter's shock. Remus, on the other hand, was attempting to calm Liz down.

"Liz, quieten down. It's okay."

"It's not okay!" Liz shouted at her uncle. "I don't have arms, or legs, or a torso! How is this okay?!"

"ELIZABETH POTTER, WOULD YOU STOP YELLING!" roared Remus. Liz immediately fell silent. "Sorry, Liz. But your body is not gone." She opened her mouth to protest, but Remus ploughed on. "You can still feel your arms and such, yes?" Liz nodded. "See? just reach up and take off the cloak like you would with any other."

Liz did as she was instructed, and the cloak reappeared as she undid the clasp, as well as her body.

She sighed with relief. "What is that?"

"An invisibility cloak. A real one, not a Disillusion Charm- those fade off. These last many lifetimes, and are very rare. It was your father's," Remus replied. "And now it's yours."

Now the shock had left Liz's brain, she remembered something. "The note said this particular present tag. What's that supposed to mean?"

Sirius got up off the floor, his laughing fit over. "They were prepared for many outcomes. They were certain that you should receive the cloak on your eleventh birthday, and they wrote a series of present tags for us to put on. Obviously, their plan worked." His normally youthful and mischievous expression faltered, and Liz saw the painful years behind his eyes. But as fast as it came, it was gone again, and he sat down at the dining table with a soft thump. "Anyway, if anyone wants pancakes, they should eat before they're too late."

* * *

That evening, Liz opened the door to see an enormous man towering over her, with wild, tangled hair, hands big enough to fit about three Liz's inside, and eyes hidden behind dark lenses.

Liz smiled like a child on Christmas Day. "Hagrid!" she launched herself at the half-giant. "You came!"

Rubeus Hagrid chuckled, gently hugging the tiny girl back. "Nice ter see yeh too, Liz. 'Course I came! I'm a half-giant who keeps his promises, don' yeh know?"

Liz noticed the goggles over his eyes. "Take Sirius' bike, huh?"

Hagrid took off his goggles. "Yeah. As a matter'a fact I did. Maybe when yer Uncle Moony ligh'ens up a bit, you an' me'll convince him ter le' you 'ave a go."

"Hagrid?" Liz nudged him. "You're forgetting something- what's today, and why this particular time it's so special?"

Hagrid tapped his chin, seeming deep in thought. "Well, now, Liz, there's lotsa special things abou' terday; it's August tomorrow, it's a particularly beautiful day- no, I 'ave it! The house elves are makin' a hog roast!"

Liz laughed, playfully punching Hagrid. He rubbed his wrist, playing along. "No, Hagrid. It's my birthday! I'm eleven!"

"Oh yeah, the grea' Liz Potter is eleven years'a age! She'll be off ter Hogwarts soon, preparin' ter be the greatest witch'a her time!" He picked the girl up and placed her on one of his unbelievably broad shoulders. He started marching towards the kitchen, loudly bellowing the tune to some anthem. Liz laughed all the while, and sang along when she could.

"Is that Hagrid, Liz?" Remus' voice floated from the Main Living Room.

"Well, duh, Moony!" Sirius joined in the conversation. "Who else talks like that- or sings like that for that matter." There was a scuffle, and a _thump_.

Liz looked down at Hagrid from her position on his shoulder. "Sometimes, I wonder who the child is in this house."

* * *

Birthday dinner was Liz's favourite: a Muggle food called pizza that her mother had introduced the Marauders to when they were younger. Sirius and Remus had once gone to Godric's Hollow and found a pizza takeaway, given Liz a slice when she was five or six, and she fell in love with it.

Sirius and Remus were laughing with Hagrid over 'the good old days' when Hagrid suddenly said, "Oh! Almost fergot! I gotta presen' fer yeh, Liz." He reached into one of the many large pockets of his coat, which lay across four spare chairs, and brought out a bag. He handed it to Liz, saying, "Happy birthday."

Liz looked up at Hagrid with a bemused smile as she took the bag. "Thank you, Hagrid."

The half-giant rolled his eyes. "Yer present's inside the bag."

Liz pulled an 'I knew that' expression, and peered inside. And looked back up at Hagrid with a smile that everyone who knew her had grown to be wary of. "You didn't."

Hagrid chuckled. "Oh, bu' I did."

"What is it?" Sirius leaned over from the left of Liz. "What did he get you?" he looked into the bag, and an evil grin spread across his face. "No way."

Liz simply kept grinning, and pulled out a big orange box. Remus took one look at his niece's birthday present, and visibly paled.

"Hagrid…" Remus looked at his old friend. "I think you just endangered us all."

"The Zonko's Deluxe Mega Set- the equipment for the basic needs of any pranker, with twice as much extras as the Zonko's Mega Set!" Liz yelled, jumping up and dancing around the room. "Hagrid you are the best ever!"

Hagrid was laughing along with Sirius. "I try."

Liz moved to put the box back into the bag, but as she picked up the latter, she noticed it was a tad heavy for an empty bag. Then she noticed the slight bulge at the bottom. She set the box down on the table, and quickly reached into the bag. And pulled out a letter. With a red seal that she'd dreamed of since she'd been told of the stories.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Elizabeth Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. Please be on platform nine and three quarters before eleven a.m. to board the Hogwarts Express._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

Sure enough, there was a list of supplies and a code of conduct. But Liz didn't really read them. She simply stared. Then, "_I'm going to Hogwarts_!"


	4. Diagon Alley

**I don't own Harry Potter, all rights go to JK**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**

Chapter 3

Diagon Alley was bustling with activity. All the shops were set out and open, with witched and wizards by the dozen coming in and out of every one. The alley was packed with families getting their kids ready for a new school year, some being the first.

There was one wall, amongst these buildings, which was completely blank. Everyone knew what it was and why it was there, so they rushed past without a thought. But there was a tapping noise from the other sides, and suddenly, the bricks were rearranging themselves, twisting around and moving back to form an archway. Standing behind the wall-now-archway, was an enormous man with wild dark hair, and a small red-headed girl. They stepped into the alley and began to make their way slowly forwards.

Liz stared around in wonder. She'd never been to Diagon Alley before- Remus and Sirius were always afraid that some stupid Death Eater would try and avenge Voldemort's death on the people there- so she had to bear with verbal descriptions and stories of the Marauders' adventures. But none did the place justice, and according to Hagrid, she looked like a child entering Honeyduke's (yet another place she knew nothing of).

"So, you got yer list?" Hagrid asked. Sirius and Remus had been called away that day on Auror business, so Hagrid had offered to take Liz instead.

"Yeah. First year students require three sets of plain black workrobes, one pair of protective dragon hide gloves- or a similar material- and one black winter cloak with silver fastenings. All students should have a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_, by Miranda Goshawk; _A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot; _Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling; _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch; _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore;_Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger; _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_by Newt Scamander_; _and _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_by Quentin Trimble_._

"All students require one wand, one cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)one set of glass or crystal phials_, _one telescope, and one set of brass scales. Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl _or_ a cat _or_ a toad. Parents are reminded that first years are not allowed their own broomstick- _o__nly_ second years and up can bring their own broom or try out for their house Quidditch team. So, where do we go first?"

"'Old yer horses, Liz- we need some money first."

"So... we're going to Gringotts? One of the most secure wizarding banks in the Wizarding World?"

"The very same."

Liz was skipping with happiness by now- both in the literal and figurative sense. "Uncle Padfoot said it was run by grouchy goblins, and a dragon guards every door." She looked up almost nervously at the half-giant.

Hagrid laughed. "Yeah, it's run by goblins, but there ain't a dragon guardin' every door." Liz seemed to relax. "That's only fer the big vaults."

The odd pair had made it to the entrance of Gringott's, and Liz examined the words inscribed into the words:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
__Of what awaits the sin of greed  
__For those who take, but do not earn,  
__Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
__So if you seek beneath our floors  
__A treasure that was never yours,  
__Thief, you have been warned, beware  
__Of finding more than treasure there._

"Wow," she muttered. "They take this seriously."

"An' they should. This bank holds money belongin' ter most'a Britain's wizardin' population."

"Wow," Liz repeated.

They slowly made their way up to the main desk. This confused Liz slightly. Weren't they supposed to go to one of the side desks? They dealt with the smaller family accounts. But Hagrid walked right up to the seemingly head goblin as if he had every right to be there.

"'Hello, sir," Hagrid greeted the strange creature behind the desk.

"What can I do for you, Mr Hagrid?" the goblin asked. Liz sometimes forgot that was his surname, and not his real one.

"Oh, nothin' fer me, just getting little Liz here some money ter buy 'er Hogwarts stuff."

The goblin seemed to finally notice the little redhead and leant over the desk to see her properly. "Ah, Miss Potter. You wouldn't mind showing me? Safety and identity reasons."

Liz smiled radiantly up at the mythical accountant and pushed her side bangs away from her forehead. There, near her hairline and not far from her right temple, was the famous lightning-shaped scar. Of course, people had only heard rumours about the scar- no one apart from close friends of the Potters and two remaining Marauders had ever seen Liz; and Liz knew nothing of the famous part. This was really the first time Liz had been out of Godric's Hollow, and even then she tended to stay away from the main part of the village. If muggles saw her not in their village school, they'd try to set the authorities on Remus and Sirius. Sure, they'd never find anything, but it would be a lot of bother.

"Excellent. Do you have your key?"

"Oh!" Hagrid began to root around in his enormous pockets. "In here somewhere." Finally, one of his hands resurfaced. "Ah! There's the little devil!" In his palm lay a small but intricate key made out of a golden metal. "And, er, this letter from Professor Dumbledore. It's about... you-know-what involving... you-know-who." His other hand pulled an envelope from another pocket. This had the words 'TOP SECRET' not-so-subtly printed onto it.

The goblin took the envelope between his leathery fingers and quickly sliced it open with a long nail. Reading the contents, he looked up and nodded. "Very well. Please may you and Miss Potter follow me." And he disappeared behind the desk.

Liz looked around the side to see that the strange creature was talking to another goblin. After a few words, the second goblin was briskly walking off; Hagrid strode after him with Liz almost running to keep up. The three of them clambered into the strange little goblin cart, and they were off. Hagrid looked like he was going to be sick, but Liz loved it. It was almost like flying, something she had wanted to do from a very young age. She was almost sad when the cart began to slow down.

They stopped at an enormous vault, and the goblin, whose name was Griphook, clambered out and said simply- and, in Liz's opinion, rather rudely- "Vault six hundred and eighty seven. Lamp, please."

Hagrid wordlessly handed Griphook the lamp and he and Liz also stepped out of the cart. They walked up to a large door. Again, the goblin turned to Hagrid. "Key, please."

Hagrid obliged, and Griphook inserted the small key into the lock; he slowly turned it and there were a series of loud clunks from the other side of the door. Then slowly, very slowly, the great door opened. And quickly, very quickly, Liz's mouth hit the floor.

It was amazing. Galleons stacked up into great towers, covering every inch of the floor, and quite a few sickles and knuts. Liz had never seen so much money in her life. Sure, she lived in an enormous manor, but she hadn't known she was_ that_ rich.

There was a silence as Liz tried to remember how to use her voice box. "What... is... this is..." she swallowed. "This is my parents' vault?"

Hagrid looked shocked. "Merlin, no, Liz! This is yer trust vault; yer folks put a bi' o' money aside fer yeh 'cause yeh can' get in ter the Potter vault until yer sixteen, an' yeh can't get in withou' an adul' until yer of age." Liz's jaw was really aching now. "Well? Don' stand there! Get a few galleons fer yer shopping and then we can do one more thing; after tha', we're outta here."

Liz pulled out of her pocket the pouch Sirius had given her and quickly took a few hundred galleons. Just in case.

Once again, they were in the cart and racing down the corridors. But unlike last time, the cart lurched to a stop.

"Vault seven hundred and thirteen," Griphook announced. "Lamp, please."

Hagrid handed the goblin the large light and the odd trio made their way to another large door- but this particular door had no key. Liz was about to mention this to Griphook, when she decided against it. There was probably a reason for this, and she should just wait.

Griphook handed the lamp back to Liz (Hagrid looked quite ill) and turned back to the door. Slowly, deliberately, he made a downwards motion with one bony finger. Again, there were clicking noises on the other side of the door, followed by loud clunks. And the door swung open to reveal an enormous, dark room where a single, grubby-looking package sat on its own.

Hagrid did not waste any time marching forward and plucking the package from its place. He slipped it into one of his pockets. Then he caught Liz's questioning look. "Hogwarts business. Between yeh and me, eh?" Liz nodded vigorously. "Right then. Off ter shop!"

* * *

The few hours that followed were hectic. Liz got her cauldron from Potage's Cauldron Shop, quite a few books from Flourish and Blotts, which were ceremoniously dumped into aforementioned cauldron, quills and ink- they also visited Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment and Slug and Jiggers Apothecary. Their next stop was Madame Malkin's Dress Robes for All Occasions.

The assistant motioned for Liz to step onto the small platform for measurements and whipped out a measuring tape. She took note of Liz's arm span, height, around her torso, and shoulders. The assistant was muttering sizes and numbers under her breath as she jotted down stuff on a notepad. Then she actually looked at Liz for the first time. "You seem familiar, for some reason. Did you ever have a photo in The Daily Prophet?"

Liz shook her head. Why would she be in The Daily Prophet? Sure, her parents' obituary had been printed a few days after they died. But her? Be in a newspaper? Nah.

"No?" The assistant had stopped measuring Liz and squinted at her face. "Oh. Of course, you must be only eleven. Ha, the only reason a child your age would be in The Daily Prophet would be something like winning the lottery, or you were the Girl Who Lived." She laughed, but then seemed to be in thought. "She'd be your age, in fact."

"The Girl Who Lived?" Liz was intrigued. "Why's she called that?"

The assistant looked around, and then leaned towards Liz. The latter copied her movement almost unconsciously, eager to hear who this 'Girl Who Lived' was.

"Have you ever heard of You Know Who?"

Liz leaned back, almost shocked. Her eyes hardened. "Of course I do. He killed my parents."

The assistant blinked, seemingly caught off guard by Liz's cold emotionless tone. "Oh. I'm sorry. That was stupid of me." There was thirty or so seconds of lovely awkward silence.

"So, what about You Know Who?" Liz pressed, back to her former tone.

The assistant shook her head as if to clear it. "Yeah. Right. Well, there were these two Aurors in this resistance against him, and then there was this prophecy, right? It talked about a kid who would kill You Know Who, and the kid was the daughter of the two Aurors. So, when the child was only a year old, You Know Who went to their house and killed the Aurors. But for some reason, he couldn't kill the child- in fact, the curse he used on her rebounded and killed him. How ironic is that? The Dark Lord, striking fear into everyone's heart so much that they couldn't- and still can't- speak his name, and he was thwarted by a child."

"Wow," Liz muttered. "So, this girl, she'll be going to Hogwarts this year?"

"No one knows." The assistant waved a hand dismissively. "The Potters were always unpredictable; people say she might go to Beauxbaton, or be home-schooled- hey, are you okay?"

Liz had almost fallen off the platform. "The Potters?" she whispered.

"Yeah, the Potters. Anyways, I'm so sorry about bringing up your parents- I mean, if Voldemort had died ten years ago, and if you're just starting Hogwarts- I'm assuming this 'cause you're young and have never heard of her- you would've only been-" She stopped. And looked at Liz. "Sorry, what's your-"

"Liz, yer takin' an awful lot of time over there." Hagrid's voice floated from the door, over the racks of clothes. He had to wait outside because while he could get through the door of the small shop, he couldn't move anywhere without knocking something over. "You okay?"

The assistant looked in the direction of Hagrid's voice. Then back at Liz. Her eyes widened. "Liz?" she whispered. "Liz… Elizabeth… Liz… Elizabeth…"

"Uh…" Liz took a slight step away from her. "Yeah, that's my name…"

The girl stepped towards her and lifted a hand towards Liz's hair. Slowly, deliberately, she moved Liz's side bangs. And stopped breathing.

"Uh…" Liz moved her head so her hair flopped back into place. "You okay?"

Then hell happened.


	5. Mobs, Wands, and Infections

**Hello! Next instalment of Elizabeth Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is presented to you by moi! Enjoy!**

**Ciara xxx**

Chapter 4

"_ELIZABETH POTTER!" _the assistant screamed. _"YOU'RE ELIZABETH POTTER!"_

Suddenly, Liz was surrounded by people. "Mum! It's _her_! Do you think she'll give me an autograph?"

"You're _her_! ohmygodohmygodohmygod!"

"The Daily Prophet will love this!"

"You're really _her_? Do you really have the scar?"

Liz stumbled backwards, completely stumped. "What? Autograph? I'm sorry, you must have- what do you mean I'm- so sorry…" But the people kept coming, closing in on her until-

"MOVE IT YEH MORONS! YEH LEAVE LIZ ALONE. SHE'S NEVER GIVEN AN AUTOGRAPH IN HER LIFE, AND THE DAILY PROHET HAS NOTHIN' TER DO WITH IT!" Hagrid, otherwise known as Liz's saviour, was wading through the crowd, most people barely coming up to his elbows. As soon as he was in range, he plucked Liz off the floor and placed her on his shoulder, much like he had done on her birthday.

A short man glared up at him. "You have no right to boss us about. She's the Girl Who Lived!" This announcement almost made Liz fall back off Hagrid's shoulder. "She hasn't been seen by anyone since the day she killed You Know Who!" His voice wavered as the size of the man he was talking to registered with his brain.

Hagrid glared right back down at the irritating man. "Yeah, she's the Girl Who Lived. Ge' over it." The man shrunk even more, which must've been an achievement. "As fer not bein' seen by no one since the day Voldemort died-" the crowd flinched. "Yeah, I said it! Anyway, she was at her folks' funeral, an' I been seein' her a lot. Bu' she don' wan' ter talk ter yeh, so you can bloody well _back off_!" Everyone stumbled backwards. Hagrid turned to Madam Malkin, who had come over to see what the fuss is about. "So sorry, ma'am; jus' came ter ge' some robes fer little Liz here. Didn' mean ter wreck yer shop." Liz looked at the racks that people had knocked over in order to take a look at her, and the ones Hagrid had knocked over in order to get Liz away from them.

Madam Malkin blinked in shock. "Yes. That's quite alright. Anjie, could you give me the measurements for Miss Potter?"

The assistant who'd been measuring Liz stepped forward numbly and handed her the notepad. Madam Malkin looked over the notes and nodded. It seemed Liz's presence did not affect her as much. Thank Merlin. "We'll be done in a jiffy. Everybody who did _not_ come for robes, instead coming here to gawk at this poor girl who resorts to sitting on this man's shoulders, _out!_"

Liz got the gist that you should _never_ get on Madam Malkin's bad side.

* * *

A few minutes later, Liz had her new robes, and she and Hagrid were walking towards Ollivander's. Strangely, no one took notice of them, despite the fact the witnesses of the Madam Malkin's incident had gone into the street shouting that they'd seen the Girl Who Lived. Not even a picture taken by the journalist they passed, as far as Liz could see. Maybe it was the ferocious glares Hagrid directed at anyone who came too close.

They reached Ollivander's, but before Liz went in, Hagrid stopped her. "Just a sec, Liz. I go' two things ter say ter yeh. One, are yeh gonna get a pet, 'cause believe me, one in yer firs' year always leads ter trouble." Liz shook her head. "Good. An' Liz? I'm sorry abou' the Madam Malkin's thing. Sirius an' Remus though' it would be good fer yeh ter grow up away from the fame- yeh know, in case it inflated yer ego. But if yeh ask 'em when yeh get home, they'll explain it all ter yeh. Tha' okay?"

Liz smiled. "Yeah. But the fame doesn't sound too bad."

"I'll jus' wait out here while yeh go get yer wand. Actually, yeh want an ice cream from Florien's? Yeh ain't lived till yeh had one of 'em."

"Yeah, thanks Hagrid." And with that, Liz went inside.

It was dustier than Liz had expected. Considering how famous Ollivander was- everyone she knew had bought their wands here- she'd thought it would look more... clean. But it had an element of homeliness and well use that made Liz warm to it immediately.

Suddenly, there was the whooshing sound of wheels rolling across a wooden floor, and a ladder swung into view, attached to one of the many shelves containing the wand boxes. Holding on to this ladder, was a man. He was elderly, but seemed to be healthy and in good enough form to be swinging round on rolling ladders. His shock of white hair was wispy and reminded Liz of a cloud, and the only wrinkles she could see were around his eyes and mouth. Laugh lines, Liz realised. But no matter how old he looked, there was a twinkle in his dark eyes that spoke kindness and endless youth.

"Ah, Miss Potter," he smiled. "You have come for your wand?"

Liz blinked. "Uh, yeah." Then she remembered the manners Remus said should be used to address your elders. "Sorry, sir, but are you Ollivander?"

"Why yes, yes I am. It seems it was only yesterday when your parents were in here buying their first wands." He was already drumming his fingers over the boxes of wands, without a glance at Liz.

"Sir?"

"Ollivander, Miss Potter."

"Ollivander, how do you know me?"

The wandmaker turned in Liz's direction, leaning so off the ladder Liz was afraid he would fall. "Dear child, how could I not know you?"

Liz scuffed her shoe against the floor. "Well, due to my uncles' worries on how fame might affect me and my ego, and the belief that Death Eaters might still be out there… I didn't know I was famous, or known as the Girl Who Lived. I didn't even know I was the one who killed Voldemort."

Ollivander had turned back to the wands and was now shuffling a worn box out of one of the dangerously placed pile. "Your uncles are very wise. I did not know that James or Lily had brothers."

"They're not related to me by blood. They were my father's best friends, and one of them is my godfather." Why was she telling him all this? But for some reason, she didn't find it odd. He had the presence of a grandfather, one that sits by the fire and listens to whatever you say, and sees your understanding where adults do not.

Ollivander came down the ladder steps and opened up the box. Taking out the wand, he handed it to Liz. "Try this."

Liz looked at him; then at the wand; then back to him. "What- _now_?"

"No, when Merlin returns," Ollivander rolled his eyes. It was strange to see such an old man make such an expression. "Yes, now."

Liz looked down at the stick-like thing in her hand. And twirled it around.

Boxes were suddenly flying everywhere, and almost hitting the two on the heads. They quickly dropped to the floor and waited until it was over. Finally, the last box dropped to the floor, and they stood up. Ollivander raised an eye brow. "Apparently not."

He was off down one of the many aisles and was already opening another box and walking back by the time Liz joined him. "How about this one?"

Liz gingerly took the black wand and flicked it ever so slightly. A vase to her left exploded from the inside out, showering glass, water and flower petals everywhere. Liz jumped back in shock and Ollivander sighed. "No, not that one."

"Sorry about the vase, sir."

"Don't worry; it was a gift from my great aunt- never liked it in the first place."

And it went on. Wand after wand, Liz tried them and it somehow managed to go awry. Soon, Ollivander's desk was stuck to the ceiling, the lamp was on fire, books were flapping around as if their covers were wings, and many more strange happenings. Every time, Liz felt the need to apologise, and every time the elderly wandmaker assured her that she needn't worry.

Finally, when Liz was just giving up hope, she heard Ollivander at the very back of the shop. "I wonder…" The old man's head turned to look at Liz, and her own cocked to the side, questioning.

Ollivander hurried back to the front of the shop, an old, dusty box in hand. It looked like it hadn't been opened in decades, and the dust seemed to make a layer of protection over it.

The wandmaker reached Liz and gently opened the box, as if the wand inside would bite it he went too quickly. Lying there, in the cushioned inside, was in Liz's mind one of the most beautiful wands she'd ever seen. The wood was a light chestnut, and intricate designs had been carved into it. It was simple, but enough for Liz. Ollivander picked up the wand delicately and handed it to the eleven year old girl.

When Liz took it by the hilt **(A/N: is that what it's called?)** she noticed that though there wasn't any obvious grip, she could hold it perfectly without it slipping even slightly. But her thoughts of the grip faded away when she felt a warm sensation rush through her. A mysterious wind whipped through her hair, and the lights blinked. Suddenly, Ollivander's desk was back on the floor, the boxes filed themselves away, the lamp extinguished itself, the books stopped flapping and dropped into neat stacks, and everything apart from the vase was put to its former state.

Ollivander looked around and then eyed Liz. "Curious."

"Curious, sir?"

"Yes, Miss Potter. You see, this wand, this _particular_ wand, is holly, eleven inches, with a phoenix feather as a core. I, in fact, created this wand. Now, the phoenix is very protective of its feathers, and it is rare that they ever give them for the making of wands. But this particular phoenix was feeling generous that day, and it gave me not one, but _two_ feathers. One is now a part of the wand you are holding. The second, I sold fifty years ago to a boy who grew up to be the most feared wizard of our time; the boy who pointed that wand at you ten years ago. So it is curious, to say the least, that this wand should choose you, while its brother gave you your infamous scar."

* * *

When Liz got back to Potter Manor, laden with packages, Sirius was crashed out on the couch.

"Hey, pup," Sirius grinned. "How was Diagon Alley? See any cool brooms?" When Liz didn't answer, and simply began putting her new items in a pile, Sirius' eyebrows came together in confusion and concern. "Pup? Lizzie?"

With her back turned to him, she asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't I what?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she repeated more loudly, turning to face her godfather. "About me and Voldemort."

Sirius stared at Liz hard, but soon recognition dawned in his eyes. He groaned. "They recognised you, didn't they?" When Liz remained silent, he took that as a 'yes'. "Where?"

"Madam Malkin's. Anjie the shop assistant was talking about the Girl Who Lived, and it slipped out that my parents died, and I was attending Hogwarts. She mentioned the Potters and I must've reacted badly; then Hagrid called to me from the shop door, and Anjie put two and two together."

"You got ambushed?"

"That's a nice way of putting it. Wasn't too bad, but I could've done without it."

"Look," he sighed. It wasn't like him to not joke about it. "We- me and Moony- agreed years ago that we'd tell you the day after your eleventh birthday, explain it all to you. But obviously, the public got to you first."

"Wait, where is Uncle Moony?"

"He went to the medicine cabinet." Sirius shifted on the sofa and grimaced. Which was when Liz noticed the large cut running down his left calf. The cloth of his trousers around it was shredded to tatters and stained a dark red; the skin around the gash pale, verging on a light green. It didn't bother Liz too much. They'd come home in worse condition before; but the colour concerned her.

"Sirius, it's infected."

"Is that so?" Sirius asked sarcastically. "That's why Moony's off getting ointment. Yackin' on about different herbs, which one to ward off infection, how much to put on, what would have side effects, yadda, yadda, yadda." He turned in the direction of the kitchen. "Oi, Loony bin! Liz's back, and she wants to know why people scream in her face when she introduces herself!"

Despite herself, Liz grinned.


	6. Explanations and a Train Ride

**Dear readers,**

**I own nothing except stuff you don't recognise. To put it simply: **_**Lorcan's mine!**_

**Just putting that across.**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**

Chapter 5

"Before you were born," Remus began, "the Wizarding World was living in dark times. There was a man, a Dark wizard, who wanted to take down the Ministry and rid the Wizarding World of Muggle-borns. He saw Muggles as filth and no higher than house elves, and he wanted to put them in 'their rightful place'. But there was a resistance against him; we were a part of it, as were your parents."

Liz unconsciously glanced at her parents' painting, who were smiling sadly at her.

"Lily and James were the best Aurors our group had ever seen, and the Dark Lord had a particular grudge against them. So when he heard they had a child, he set out to destroy the Potters. Even though their safe house was hidden and had a Fidelius charm cast upon it," Remus grimaced, "we had a traitor in our group. We were fools and changed hi- them to Secret Keeper, thinking the Death Eaters wouldn't suspect we did. But they were a Death Eater themselves, and told him the secret. And so, he came to the safe house, and... killed your parents."

Liz narrowed her eyes. She could understand it was hard to say 'killed', but there was something else about Remus' tone of voice. Like there was more to it.

"Anyway…" Sirius took over the story. "For some reason, he couldn't kill you; in fact, the Killing Curse he shot at you rebounded somehow, and killed him instead. Your parents entrust us to keep you safe and away from the fame so it doesn't inflate your ego, skip ten years, and here we are!"

Trust Sirius to do the short version.

We're sorry we didn't tell you earlier," Remus sighed. "We were in fact going to explain it to you tonight, but apparently this Anjie girl got there before us."

"It's okay, Uncle Moony," Liz shrugged. "At least I know now, before that happens again."

"Fame can't be easy."

"Well, I think it was kinda cool back in school, eh, Moony?" Sirius nudged his friend. "Girls fawning over us; teachers wanting to punish us so bad, but we were their star students, so they didn't; wish we could just stay teenagers forever."

"Don't we all," Remus muttered. "But anyway, Liz; you don't want to hear about the things Sirius did at Hogwarts, you're getting ready for your own trip. So, you got everything? I'm amazed Hagrid didn't talk you into getting a pet dragon or something."

* * *

On the 1st September, a dark haired man and a redheaded girl made their way through Kings Cross Station, pushing a large trolley, an amazingly large old-fashioned trunk stacked perilously on, along the platform for 9 and 10. The pair strode along, the girl with a messenger bag over her shoulder, ignoring the odd looks that they were receiving. As wizards, they were used to it. A little boy on the opposite platform looked up from his perilously melting ice lolly, curiously watching the odd people as his mother tried to work out which train they were catching.

"Five, six, seven…" Sirius counted the columns they passed by, "Ah! Nine and ten!"

"So, it's true?" Liz asked. "You have to run at the wall between the ninth and tenth column, between platforms nine and ten, to get to platform nine and three quarters?"

"You bet, Liz." Sirius glanced around, and grasped the trolley. "No one seems to be watching. You ready?" The eleven year old girl nodded and the two of them charged at the wall, trolley in front of them. But, when they made contact, they did not crash; they slipped into the brick as if it were thin air.

Across the tracks, the shocked little boy didn't notice his ice lolly hit the ground.

* * *

Liz gazed around; if she was shocked, she hid it well. She merely glanced up and down the platform with extreme curiosity. No display of nerves, awe, or fear. Sirius chuckled. James' girl, through and through.

"Wow," Liz muttered, tugging at her green hoodie. "Wonder if I'll meet any pranksters."

Sirius chuckled again. "Speaking of pranking, there's something that might help you with that, along with your dad's cloak." The eleven year old looked up at him eagerly. "Keep a look out for a big stretch of parchment, all folded up. I'll write you a letter with more info later though; the train's leaving in ten."

Liz was buzzing with excitement as they shoved her trunk onto the luggage compartment. Then something occurred to her, and she turned to her godfather. "What if I'm not in Gryffindor? What if I'm in Hufflepuff, or Slytherin? Would Mum and Dad be disappointed in me?"

"Lizzie, Lizzie." Sirius pulled her into a hug. "You could be placed in Hufflepuff, Slytherin, or no House at all; your parents wouldn't care less. They love you, and that's all that matters." Liz smiled. "Plus, both your parents are Gryffindors, and you were raised by me and old Loony-bin. You're hardly going to be Slytherin material, are you?" Liz laughed. Sirius pulled away. "Get on now, that way you'll have good seats. You got your hat?" Liz held up a green baseball-style (whatever that was) cap, bought at a very memorable Holyhead Harpies game. Sirius plopped it onto her red hair, and adjusted it lovingly. "Merlin, I'm gonna miss you, pup."

Liz gave her godfather a hug. "I'm gonna miss you too, Padfoot." She slightly adjusted her messenger bag, and jumped onto the nearest carriage.

"Go put some Slytherins in their place!" Sirius shouted, causing her to turn around again.

She laughed and saluted. "Yes, sir!" And with that, she was off down the carriages. She saw a group of older kids walking in her direction, and she tugged the rim of her cap lower over her eyes, over her forehead. Both Remus and Sirius were furious the day after she was recognised in Diagon Alley, for it had been all over the papers: Girl Who Lived spotted getting ready for school. Anjie the shop assistant had told the Daily Prophet that Liz was indeed going to Hogwarts.

Liz was grateful that the cameras had only caught a mop of red hair, nothing else. Sure, she enjoyed the attention at some points, but right now, she just wanted a place to sit.

Finally, she found an empty compartment and plopped down, her bag on the floor, and propped her feet up across the seat; she closed her eyes. Finally, some quiet...

"Look, Ginny, here's a new kid," a boy's voice announced. Liz suppressed a groan. "And she supports the Harpies. I'll be down the carriage, but don't bother me unless there's a good reason."

"And what in your book counts as a good one?" A girl asked.

"The trolley, Fred and George causing trouble, anything to do with the Chuddley Cannons, or the Girl Who Lived. Now, bye!" Footsteps faded as the boy called to his friends to wait up.

"See ya, Ron," the girl muttered. "Sorry about that; he's so eager to get rid of his little sister."

Liz opened her eyes to see a young girl about her age, sitting on the seat across from her. Fairly slight, pretty face, doe-like brown eyes, and a mass of red hair. Seeing an opportunity for Liz to make friends before everybody sucked up to Elizabeth Potter, she took her first choice of breaking the tension: humour.

"A ginger!" she exclaimed. The girl started a little. "I was beginning to think we were extinct!"

There was a second or two before the other girl laughed. Liz had a feeling she'd be very popular with the men in years to come. "Yeah, we redheads gotta stick together; who knows what those brunettes and blondes would do if given the chance to stomp us out." She smiled again. "I'm Ginny."

"Liz," said girl replied. "So, your brother said you're a Harpies fan?"

"Yeah!" Her eyes shone. "It's my first choice for a job. Completely unrealistic, as my mum would say."

Nah, I've dreamt about playing for the girls since I was six. Love flying." Liz was slightly aware of the train pulling from the station.

"So that's two things we have in common so far: red hair, and the Harpies. We've known each other for what, twenty seconds?"

"Excuse me," A thickly accented voice came from the doorway, "But do you think I could sit here?"

The girls looked up to see a dark haired boy looking back at them. There was something about him that she immediately liked (not in that way) Maybe it was the way he leaned against the door in such a casual manner, or the spark of mischief in his eye that was mirrored in the two girls' as well.

"Sure; I'm Liz."

"Ginny."

"Seamus Finnigan," the boy replied, sitting next to Ginny.

"Shamrock, Thistle, Daffodil or Rose?" Liz asked.

"Shamrock; half-blood in fact," Seamus replied. "Dad's a Muggle, and me Mum's a witch; pretty nasty shock when he found out."

Ginny snorted. "I bet."

"What about you?"

"I'm pureblood, but my family is what some might call blood traitors." The ginger made a face. "Pretty big family at that."

"How many?"

"Does six brothers answer your question?"

"Ah, you're a Weasley?"

"Hair's a bit of a giveaway."

"What about you?" Seamus turned to Liz. "What's your story?"

Thankfully, before Liz could reply, there was a quiet cough at the door. Yet another boy stood at the door. "Could I…?"

"Of course." Liz pulled her legs off the compartment seat. "Name?"

"Lorcan, Lorcan Mercy." The boy seemed a little tired, and was quite lanky for his age.

"I'm Liz, and this is Ginny and Seamus." The others offered forms of greetings.

Sadly, Liz couldn't be spared any longer. Seamus rounded on her again. "Anyway, back to you. Family, name?"

Liz sighed. Maybe if she dropped it on them gently, they wouldn't start screaming in her face. "My parents died."

Shock struck all three of the faces watching her.

"I'm sorry," Seamus began. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine. It was years ago- ten, to be exact. They were killed at the end of the Wizarding War." She hoped one of them would get the hint. Ginny seemed to be thinking about it, but the expression soon passed.

"So, who do you live with?" Lorcan asked.

"My godfather, and my dad's best friend. I didn't really stray far from the house either; they didn't want me to be exposed to the outside world." Again, she stared at them meaningfully, but they simply seemed confused. She sighed. "You need it spelt out for you?" She yanked off her cap and pushed her side bangs out of the way.

A silence fell over the compartment as the three other eleven year olds stared at their new friend's forehead. Liz flopped against the seat, half smirking, half bracing herself for the yelling. But it never came.

"Why's it shaped like that?" Seamus asked randomly.

"What?"

"Why's it shaped like that?" Seamus repeated. "You know, like a lightning bolt."

Liz glanced upwards for a second. "Dunno. Never really thought about it, to be honest."

"And you have your hair cut like that to hide it?" Ginny asked. Liz nodded. "Cool."

"Did it hurt?"

Liz started, and looked at Lorcan. "I... I don't remember. Until recently, I didn't even know Voldemort was the one who gave it to me." She didn't notice her hand creep up to her locket. "My uncles Sirius and Remus thought it'd be best for my ego not to inflate."

If the others noticed her hand fingering her locket, they didn't show it. "Smart men, your uncles," Lorcan stated. "What house were they in?"

"Gryffindor, like my parents," Liz grinned. "And hopefully, me as well."

"My entire family's been in Gryffindor," Ginny said thoughtfully, "but I want to go there, even if they weren't."

"Gryffindor girls!" Seamus whooped. "I was thinking about the lion too. You, Lorcan?"

"Godric Gryffindor," Lorcan said thoughtfully. "Nice chap, apparently. I suppose so."

The chatter went on the entire journey, only stopping when the boys went to a different compartment to change into school robes (Lorcan and Seamus insisted they went out, due to Liz's 'public issues' as Seamus called it. Liz had no problem with this, but her friends did)

She inwardly whooped and did a little dance. Friends! I mean sure, the fame sounded cool, but she wanted real friends who weren't simply sucking up to her. These guys had liked her before the hat came off, and she knew they'd be going nowhere any time soon.


	7. Friends, Enemies, and Singing Hats

**Hi! Sorry it's been a while, but it was my sister's birthday, then my brother's birthday three days after that, then mine a week after that! to say the least, it's been hectic.**

**I must remind you I own nothing that you recognise. Lorcan is mine, though. And I'd say Harry O'Connor's mine too. Though he's based on the male Harry.**

**You get the picture.**

**So, read, review, enjoy!**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**

Chapter 6

Finally, the Hogwarts Express sailed into Hogsmeade Station, and Liz was jumping up and down with excitement, but not in a particularly girl-like fashion. The foursome, consisting of herself, Ginny, Seamus and Lorcan, grabbed their stuff and jumped off the train, placing their carry-ons with their trunks. Then, Liz noticed the enormous shadow holding a lantern the size of her head. "Firs' years, firs' years, over here!"

"Hagrid!" Liz yelled as she ran through the crowd, the other three close behind her.

"'Ello, Liz," Hagrid chuckled. "You made some friends?" He raised his eyebrows at the three behind her, their expressions slightly awed.

"Right; this is Ginny, Seamus and Lorcan. Guys, this is Hagrid, I've known him since I was a kid." The other three muttered greetings.

"Nice ter meet ya. Alrigh' then; firs' years, follow me ter the boats!"

* * *

The new students were met at the little docks by a very stern-looking woman with silvery hair scraped back into a tight bun, topped with a proper witch's hat. She looked down at the group of eleven year olds not unkindly, but it was enough to make a few avert their eyes.

"Good evening," the woman said in a light Scottish accent. "I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress here at Hogwarts. Follow me, unless you want to sleep in a corridor with no house." And she was off, walking at such a brisk pace some were almost trotting to keep up with her. After many twists and turns, she came to a halt at an enormous pair of ebony-wood doors. She abruptly turned to the students. "Now, in a moment, you will walk through these doors, and enter the Great Hall." Liz leant against the stone bannister. "This is where you will eat all your meals, and where you will be Sorted into one of four Houses; Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin.

"Now, wait here until I return." With a swirl of her cloak, she was indeed gone.

There was muttering as soon as the professor left, and above the clamour, Liz heard a boy: "Of course I'll be in Slytherin, Crabbe. What kind of a question is that? Only the best for me."

Ginny couldn't help but snort, and a boy turned around. "You think it's funny do you? Oh wait, red hair, used robes; of course I wouldn't expect you to understand pedigree, Weasley." The boy's white-blonde hair was slicked back like grease, and his pale blue eyes seemed naturally wide, giving him the look of a lizard. Ginny balled her fists and began to step forward, but Seamus stopped her. Unfortunately, Liz had a thing about bullying, and neither Seamus nor Lorcan could stop her mouth.

"Slytherin's the best for you, you say? Funny, I wonder how he feels about you."

The boy seemed to notice her standing casually nearby, and obviously didn't like her attitude. "Another redhead? It's like an infestation. A future Gryffindor, no doubt."

"But of course," Liz grinned, ignoring the warning glances from her friends. "Although, I'm not related to my friend here."

The boy acted as if she hadn't said anything after 'of course'. "Though, why anyone would choose brawn over brains is beyond me."

"And where would you go, since you're neither?" Liz shot back.

"Malfoy," one of the boys complained. "This is boring."

'Malfoy' paid no attention to his friend. "Watch it, Weasley."

"I said I'm not a Weasley, no matter how brilliant their family may be."

"What about your family then? By the way you hold yourself, I doubt you're anything too grand."

Luckily, Liz was accustomed to hiding her emotions from her expression; the same could not be said for her hands however, as they balled into fists inside her robe pockets. "You know, Malfoy, I've always been quite good at defence magic," she said in a low tone, so only the two of them could hear. "In fact, I deflected a considerably nasty curse as a child. Poor guy who shot it didn't know what hit him." She smirked as Malfoy's eyes widened. "Got a scar with it though. Quite noticeable."

"Well then," he stuttered, trying to smooth over the insults he'd just hurled at 'The Wizarding World's Saviour'. "It seems you've started on the wrong side of the tracks," he shot a distasteful glance at the other three, "I'm Malfoy; this is Crabbe and Goyle." Two boys behind him nodded. "You need to be careful about who your friends are. And I can help you there." He held out a hand, and waggled his eyebrows like they were live caterpillars.

Liz looked at his hand as if he'd offered her a lump of owl dung, then looked at his face. "Well Ginny, I think we have a ladies' man here!" She glanced at his eyebrows, "correction, a boy _trying_ to be."

Malfoy's eyes flashed with anger and humiliation, but as he began to take a step towards the redhead, Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared once more. "They're ready for you. Please follow me." Once again swirling her cloak, she turned towards the doors. Liz tried to blend in with Ginny somewhere in the middle of the long line of eleven year olds. Without any gesture, the great doors opened and she marched in, the students close behind.

Despite herself, Liz couldn't help but be in awe of the sheer immenseness of the Great Hall. There were four extremely long tables running the length of the Hall, one for each house, she couldn't help noticing. At the other end of the Hall, up five or six steps, was yet another table; obviously for the staff, as it consisted only of adults.

Ginny nudged Liz. "The ceiling," she whispered excitedly. "It looks like the night sky!" Sure enough, it did; though there were many floating candles up there too- Liz was certain there weren't any floating candles in the sky.

"Enchantment," they both heard Lorcan mutter in front of them, but they also heard the awe in his voice.

Liz could feel the eyes of all the other students, the ones who were already seated, as they tried to determine their new housemates and one other question: where was the Girl Who Lived?

Seconds later, they reached the end of the Hall. In front of the podium, where Liz supposed the Headmaster stood for speeches, was a wooden stool, and a tattered old hat.

Professor McGonagall glided up the steps. "Just wait at the bottom, please." The students did as told, and she picked up a scroll. But suddenly, to Liz's surprise, and humour, the old hat seemed to acquire a face, and what shocked the new students even more was that it began to sing.

_Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folks use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

The students and staff applauded as the Sorting Hat finished its song, and Liz found herself joining in.

The professor in front of them had a small smile on her face as she rolled out the scroll in her hand, then rolled her own eyes, muttering, "those Weasley boys, messing up the system." She turned to the students. "When I call your name, you will come up to the stool, and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head." Glancing down at her list, she called out, "Susan Bones."

A young girl extracted herself from the crowd and nervously made her way up to the stool. As she sat down, the professor placed the Hat on her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

There was cheering as a relieved Susan made her way to the table sporting the yellow banner.

"Michael Corner."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Theo Jacobs."

A boy with dark hair that seemed to refuse to flatten made his way up to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

And so it went on. Two twins were placed in Hufflepuff, and a mixture of other students were Sorted.

"Neville Longbottom."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Draco Malfoy!"

The Hat considered this for barely a few seconds. "SLYTHERIN!"

"Ginerva Weasley!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Liz whooped for her friend.

"Vincent Crabbe."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Seamus Finnigan."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Go Seamus!" Liz yelled.

"Hannah Abbot."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Gregory Goyle."

"SLYTHERIN!"

Liz clapped and whispered to Lorcan about the last boy's ridiculous ears.

"Elizabeth Potter."

Silence fell on the Hall as the name registered with everyone's brain. Winking at Lorcan, Liz stepped forward and bounded up the steps; she could feel all eyes on her. She lifted herself up onto the stool, and Professor McGonagall began to lower the Hat towards her head.

_Wait,_ she thought. _What if I'm not placed in Gryffindor? What if they try and put me somewhere else? No! Gryffindor, all the way. Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor..._

The Hat didn't even have to look too far through her mind. As soon as the rim of the tattered thing grazed her head, the disembodied voice bellowed in a voice so loud, it echoed through the Hall quite a few times. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The designated table for the House of the bold leaped up, screaming and cheering. Liz grinned and got down from the stool, even risking a bow. She could see two more redheads (identical redheads) shouting "WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!"

Liz practically danced her way down to the table to sit by Seamus, opposite Ginny, high-fiving both of them.

It was a few minutes before everyone was quiet enough for the Sorting to carry on. Lorcan was placed in Gryffindor, though apparently the Hat said he would be a great Ravenclaw.

After a speech from the famous Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster, ending with a few odd words ("Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!") and the announcement of a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell, the students of Hogwarts dug into the amazing feast that materialised on the tables in front of them. Liz ate and laughed with her three new friends, was introduced to one of Ginny's brothers; Ron, the boy Liz had seen with Ginny on the train earlier that day. Sitting opposite Ron were two other people. The girl had brown curly hair that had a slight frizz to it, a quite plain, simple look about her. The boy had dark hair that flopped over his eyes, and pale green-blue eyes that tickled at an old memory in Liz's brain. She pushed it aside as the girl was introduced as Hermione Granger, who smiled and welcomed them to Hogwarts, before turning back to her argument with Ron; meanwhile the other boy scooted down the bench.

"Hi," he greeted the four first years, not even glancing at Liz's forehead. "Sorry about those two, can't go thirty seconds in the same room without wanting to tear each other's throats out. Oh, I'm Harry by the way. Harry O'Connor."

For some reason, Ginny had gone awfully quiet. Liz put that down to the excitement; she was probably just thinking.

Seamus spoke up, "Seamus Finnigan, half-blood."

"Good for you, mate," Harry smiled. "Me too. Ginny, I've already met." the redhead stared at her plate intently; he turned to Lorcan. "What about you?" Harry seemed genuinely interested in what they had to say.

"Lorcan Mercy," the boy muttered. "Blood traitor." He seemed to add something under his breath, and Liz narrowed her eyes.

"Like Ron. And you," Harry carried on, drawing Liz's attention back to him, "You must be Elizabeth."

Said girl made a face. "Nope, Liz. Elizabeth was my grandmother." She was distracted by the empty chair at the staff table. "Harry, who sits there?"

The boy made a face. "Ah. That's where the Potions Master, Snape sits. Funny he's not here, he loves to torment- sorry, 'educate us in the art of discipline'." He snorted. "He makes it sound like me and Ron are delinquents."

"Huh," Seamus looked at Liz. "I'm sure he'll love us then. Especially me."

"Oh?" Lorcan lifted his head.

"My first Accidental Magic wasn't exactly... contained."

Everyone looked confused, but Ginny laughed. "Oh Merlin, Seamus!"

* * *

At the end of dinner, the Gryffindor first years were rounded up and taken to a large portrait of a Roman-looking lady who seemed to be way too familiar with the pies. Ron and Harry had called her The Fat Lady.

The woman turned her head. "Password?"

"Figglehorn," the prefect announced.

"Correct." And the painting swung inwards, its frame creating a doorway.


	8. Classes, Fred, and George

**Sorry it's been a while! Hope you enjoy this chapter**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**

Chapter 7

It was amazing. The giant round room was completely covered in red and gold. There were comfortable looking armchairs on the edges of the room, and a cluster by the enormous fireplace. Already the seats were filling up with current students.

"Okay, so the tower up to your left is the boys dormitories and bathroom," the prefect announced. "This is the same for the girls in the tower on the right. Your trunks have already been brought up, your schedules will be given to you tomorrow at breakfast which is at eight till nine."

Liz grabbed Ginny's hand and hurtled up the stairs, faintly aware of Seamus doing the same with Lorcan. Soon coming to the first year dorms, the two girls burst into the room. Immediately, Liz caught sight of one four poster bed situated right by a window alcove. She threw herself onto said bed while Ginny took the one on the other side of the window.

Ginny looked across at Liz. "You too?"

"What? Oh, you mean the window thing? Yeah, I need some way to see outside, to see-"

"The sky," Ginny finished for her. The two redheads grinned at each other; it was as if they could sense that they would become the best of friends.

* * *

The next day, Liz and Ginny descended the staircase, their uniforms on and their hair brushed. Seeing four seats in the corner of the room, they quickly sat down to wait for the boys; they'd agreed to go down to breakfast together.

As they sat there, Liz could feel many eyes flicking in their direction; she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. _Hurry up guys, hurry up guys…_

Finally Seamus bounded down from the boys' dorm, Lorcan following.

"Hello!" the Irish boy grinned at the girls. "Off to breakfast!"

* * *

Once again, an enormous feast lay in wait for the four eleven year olds in the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table, piling up their plates.

As the post came, a box was dropped in front of a boy down the table; Neville Longbottom. He pulled out a small glass ball. "What the…"

"I know what those are," Hermione exclaimed from down the table. "They're called Remembralls."

"Hermione, leave the kid alone," Ron sighed.

"What's a Remembrall?" Liz asked.

"A Remembrall is an enchanted glass ball filled with smoke," Hermione explained, ignoring Ron's eye-rolling. "When the smoke turns red, it means you've forgotten something."

"So… what did I forget?" Neville looked down at the ball of smoke, which had gone red at his touch. Liz shrugged and turned back to her breakfast.

"You're seriously going to eat all that?" Lorcan glanced at Liz's plate.

"Uh…" Liz looked at him. "Yeah, that's what I intend to do with it…"

"But you're so… small."

"No judging by size! Besides, Ginny's small too and she's eating just as much as me." A glance in the other redhead's direction confirmed this.

"Gryffindor first years!" Professor McGonagall glided down the aisle, handing out sheets of paper. She stopped at the foursome. "Your timetables." Each of them received a sheet of paper. "Until you can take the optional classes, all students will have the same timetable as the other first years in their houses." The friends grinned at each other. "Oh, and Miss Potter?" Liz looked up at the stern teacher. "You would do well not to follow in your father's footsteps where it concerns his sense of… humour."

"Will do, Professor M," Liz grinned. With an exasperatedly raised eyebrow, the professor turned and marched towards the door.

"So," Ginny leant forward. "What do we have first?"

Seamus scanned his sheet, and visibly paled. "Potions."

* * *

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Next to the gangly one with the dark-ish hair."

"The redhead?"

"Yeah."

"... which one?"

"Slightly taller."

"Did you see her face?"

"Did you see her scar?"

"Are they going to shut up any time soon?" Lorcan muttered.

"It's not too bad," Liz said cheerfully, waving at a second year, whose jaw dropped and started whispering to their friends.

"It's hard enough trying to find the classes around here," Seamus complained.

There were a hundred and forty two staircases at Hogwarts- well, that's what the foursome thought. There were wide, sweeping ones, narrow rickety ones, some that led somewhere different on a Friday, some with a vanishing step that you had to remember to jump- it was very hard to keep track of them. Then there were the doors.

Some wouldn't open unless you asked politely, some wouldn't open unless you tickled them in the right place. Some weren't even doors at all; they were walls pretending to be doors. The four young Gryffindors tried to remember corridors by particular paintings or magical artefacts, but that didn't work either. Liz asked another second year who'd stammered something out about the paintings liking to visit each other.

"Okay!" Ginny grabbed Lorcan's arm. "This is just stupid. That suit of armour is _following us_."

"We just want to get to Transfiguration!" Seamus yelled at the ceiling, startling a few students and reminding them that The Girl Who Lived walked among them. "Is that so hard to ask? _Please_?!"

As if answering the boy's question (which, knowing the castle as they did now, was probably what it was doing) a door appeared and opened to them.

"Well," Liz said, walking through the door and sighing with relief when she noted they were now on the right floor. "I have a feeling everything else will be fine and dandy compared to Potions."

Ginny laughed. "Yeah, Snape doesn't seem to like you."

Liz sighed, this time in depression as she recalled that morning's Potions class.

* * *

Potions lessons were always held down in the dungeons of the castle. Liz hated to think what had happened where she now sat, waiting for her first lesson of Hogwarts.

As Snape took register, Liz looked to her left. And found a toad looking back at her. Startled, she looked up at the shelf- every jar held some dead animal, floating in a preserving liquid.

"Miss Potter." Her name carried through the room. At first Liz had thought she'd missed a question, but it turned out the Potions professor had simply reached her name in the register. "Our new... _celebrity_." Malfoy and his friends snickered while Liz held her head up high.

Not looking up from his desk, Snape began a long speech about the art of potion making and how he could teach them to bottle fame, brew glory, stopper death... if they weren't like the usual dunderheads he usually taught.

"Potter!" he said suddenly, still not looking up from his parchment. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

_Powdered root of_ _afodel and_ _a fusion of what now_? Liz raised an eyebrow at Ginny, who shrugged; Lorcan's hand was in the air, calmly waiting to be picked.

"I don't know, professor."

Snape seemingly ground his teeth at the casualness in Liz's voice. "Well obviously, fame isn't everything. Let's try this again: where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Again, Liz was stumped; Lorcan's hand remained in the air while he looked over Seamus' shoulder at some doodle the latter was drawing.

"I don't know, professor," Liz replied idly, flicking a scrap of parchment across the desk.

"You do realise that in order to learn, you must open a book, Potter?"

"I did read it, professor."

"Oh? Then why can't you answer my questions?"

"I said I read it, I didn't say I swallowed it," Liz muttered so quietly only Ginny could hear; the other redhead next to her silently shook with laughter.

"Potter, what's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" The Potions Master still hadn't lifted his gaze from whatever he was writing.

Still, Lorcan's hand was in the air; he deserved some credit while Liz was bombarded with questions. Unsure of what to, do, Liz resorted to her first weapon of choice: humour.

"Not a clue, professor," Liz said cheerfully. "But I think Lorcan does, maybe you should try him?"

A few students laughed, and Seamus winked at Liz. But the joke did not go well with the professor.

"For all you dunderheads' information, asphodel and wormwood combined create a sleeping potion so powerful it is called Draught of Living Death. A beazor is found inside the stomach of a goat and can save your life from most poisons. Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same thing, and can also be called aconite." There was silence. "Well? Write this down." The students scrambled for ink and parchment. Snape stood up and faced Liz. "Also, one point from Gryffin..." he trailed off, staring at the young girl. The girl in question slightly cocked her head to the side, as she always did in confusion. His eyes widened at that as well. Suddenly, the Potions Master shook his head ferociously.

"One point from Gryffindor for cheek... Potter."

* * *

The lesson hadn't gotten any better from there, Liz remenisced with a sigh. Neville Longbottom had melted his cauldron and the potion had gotten everywhere. Everyone had jumped up onto their chairs but Neville was burnt badly. As soon as Neville was led out of the room towards the hospital wing, Snape had rounded on Liz, claiming that Liz didn't stop the boy from adding the porqupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire in order for her to look good. Liz told him that she was focusing on her own potion with Ginny. He'd deducted another point from their house.

They finally found the Transfiguration classroom where, luckily, there was no Professor McGonagall yet; just a cat sitting on the desk.

"Great, she isn't here," Seamus sighed with relief. "Imagine her face if she saw us right now."

The cat jumped off the table and in mid-leap, grew to take the form of a woman. A stern, Transfiguration professor to be exact.

"Can I just say: that was wicked, professor," Seamus stated. An awed Ginny nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Mr Finnigan; though I would be most grateful if you could enter the classroom with the rest of the students. Maybe I could transfigure one of you four into a watch, so the others will be on time."

"We got lost, professor," Liz piped up.

"Then perhaps another into a map. Honestly, the amount of gallivanting you do, you'd need one to get back on track." She instantly regretted her words as she saw a look on their faces; a look she hadn't seen for almost thirteen years. She shook her head and turned back to her desk. Perhaps they wouldn't be as bad as the boys...

* * *

The Friday of the first week came soon, as did the flying lessons. The Gryffindor first years hurried down the steps, eager to start.

"As soon as second year comes, I'm trying out for Chaser." Ginny was almost bouncing with excitement. "It's like a 'personal goal' for me. That's what my brother Percy said when he first started Hogwarts: 'it is my personal goal to be Head Boy one day'. What about you guys?"

"Beater," Seamus said immediately.

"My brothers have that position."

"What, Ron and Percy?"

"No, Ron won't try out because he thinks he's terrible. And Percy's 'strictly academic'. I'm talking about Fred and George."

Just then, two redheads came barrelling towards the staircase, almost knocking over the foursome. Liz recognised them from the welcome feast, yelling 'WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!'.

"Hey, little sister!" one of them grinned, ruffling Ginny's hair. "Off to fly?"

"Fred, gerroff!" Ginny punched him in the arm.

Seamus blinked. "You can tell them apart?"

"Anyway, must dash," the other one, George… probably, smiled a similar smile to his brother's. "Filch isn't too pleased with us right now-"

"Also, we were wondering if you'd seen Errol, we think he's hiding but we can't imagine why," Fred carried on his brother's sentence.

Lorcan, Seamus and Liz blinked, but Ginny rolled her eyes. "The exploding pumpkin pasty he found?"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that, didn't you, Fred?" One redheaded boy said to the other. "Anyway, nice to meet you, Irish boy, tired boy-"

"And famous girl," Fred finished. "Elizabeth, wasn't it?"

"Nice to meet you, Elizabeth."

Suddenly, Liz's leg shot out and both of them were clutching their shins.

"If you want to keep your legs and your dignity," Liz said calmly, "You. Will _never_. Call me Elizabeth."

The twins grinned simultaneously. "Nice to meet you, fire girl." And they were off.

There was silence as the four kids stood there.

"That," Ginny said finally, "was Fred and George."


	9. Remembralls, Brooms, and Seekers

**Warning you now, this story will follow some events closely, and not so much with others; so I apologise if it seems too boring for now. I've got stuff planned out, so if you could be patient, that would be great, thanks. **

**I need a good insult to be used later in the story. I'm bad at this sort of stuff, so I need your help. The insult must be about Ginny, but delivered in a way the person won't realise they've insulted her. Exact, I know, but I need it for the story. If you're a guest, review, if you have an account, PM me. Good? Okay, I really appreciate it. **

**I don't own Harry Potter, all rights go to JK**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**

Madame Hooch marched towards the group of first years. She had short grey hair and her yellow eyes watched the children like a hawk. The students shuffled their feet, unsure of what to do.

"Well?" she barked. "What are you waiting for? Everyone stand by a broomstick." Silence. "Well, come on, hurry up."

"They're a bit… old," Seamus said to Liz doubtfully, poking his broom with his foot. Some twigs stuck out at odd angles.

"Everyone got a broom? Good." Madam Hooch reached the end of the line and turned to face the students. "Welcome to your first flying lesson. Everyone hold your right hand over the broom, and say, 'up'."

"Up!" the students shouted.

Liz's broom shot up to meet her hand so fast that she was slightly unbalanced. "Naturally," she grinned to herself.

Malfoy's rose fairly quickly too; as did Ginny's. Lorcan's rolled over on the ground- he must've not been too keen on flying- and Seamus' came up and hit him in the head. "OW!"

Liz laughed. "I think that was payback for the poking."

"Shut up, Liz."

Madam Hooch showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off, and began to correct everybody's grip. She walked right past Seamus, Liz and Ginny, moved a few fingers about with Lorcan and then, to the foursome's great delight, told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.

"When I blow my whistle, you kick off the ground, hard," Madam Hooch instructed. "You rise a few feet, then come straight back down. You do this by leaning slightly forwards. Any questions?" Silence. "On my mark; one, two-"

Suddenly, Neville was slowly rising upwards, with a horrified look on his face.  
"What are you doing, boy? Come down," Madam Hooch snapped. As if provoked by her words, the boy's broom began jerking and spinning, as if trying to throw off its rider. "Mr Longbottom! What on Earth-" But Neville's grip on the broom slipped and the boy was flying through the air without his broom; he landed a few metres away with a thump and a sickening crack. The students ran forward to where the boy was lying, face-down in the grass. Nobody noticed the broom drifting lazily away.

"Out of my way, out of my way!" Madam Hooch ran briskly towards Neville and bent over him. "Broken wrist," Liz heard her mutter. "Come on, dear; it's okay, up we go." She turned to the class. "None of you are to move while I take Mr Longbottom to the hospital wing. Anyone an inch off the ground will be on the train back to London before you can say 'Quidditch'."

As soon as the professor and the student were out of sight, Malfoy burst into laughter. "Did you see his face?" The other Slytherins joined in.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Ginny snapped.

"Look!" Malfoy snatched something off the ground. "It's that stupid remembering ball Longbottom's gran sent him!" The Remembrall glittered in the sun.

"Give that here, Malfoy." Liz strode forward; silence fell on the Slytherin and Gryffindor students.

Malfoy stared at Liz for a minute, but soon burst out laughing again. Unsure, the Slytherins joined in again. "Oh! The Girl Who Lived wants Longbottom's Remembrall! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have taken it." Suddenly, the blonde boy hopped onto his broom, and had taken off. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." He circled the group of first years. "How about on the roof?" and he was off, rising higher into the air.

Muttering curses (learnt from one dark haired Marauder) under her breath, Liz mounted her broom.

"Liz!" Lorcan shoved his way to the front. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Going after him, what does it look like?"

"You go, Liz!" cheered Seamus.

"Liz, please think about-"

But Liz, ignoring the admittedly wise words of her friend, kicked hard off the ground. Up, up she rose, her hair rippling out behind her, her robes flapping in the breeze. She realised why her Uncle Padfoot (and her father) liked flying; it was so easy- scratch that, it was amazing. She rose even higher, and heard gasps and screams from the girls, and whoops from Ginny and Seamus; she heard the sound of skin on skin as Lorcan face-palmed at the idiotic bravery of his friend.

Liz faced Malfoy in a sharp turn; the latter looked stunned.

"Hand it over, Malfoy," Liz shouted, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"

"Is that so?" But worry was evident in his voice.

Liz leant forward, grasping the broom tightly in both hands, and she shot towards Malfoy like an arrow. She had no idea how she knew to do that; it simply came to her. Malfoy barely had time to move out of the way; Liz did a sharp turn about and held the broom steady.

"No thugs up here to save you now, are there?" Liz taunted.

By the look on Malfoy's face, he was thinking of that too.

"You want it?" the blonde boy shouted. "Go get it!" he threw the glass ball high into the air, a long shot.

Liz shot past Malfoy like a bullet, fully aware of the ball hurtling towards a window. Was that Professor McGonagall in there? Hopefully she wouldn't notice a first year flying straight towards her office.

The ball was beginning to lose height, and Liz pushed the broom even harder. As she neared the ball, she reached downwards so suddenly, her broom flipped right around and up again; she caught the ball as her hand blew past. She was inches from the stone wall of the castle.

She tossed the ball from one hand to the other, very pleased with herself. With that, she streaked back towards the grounds where the students had been having the lesson, unaware of the shocked professor she'd left behind.

* * *

The Gryffindor students cheered as they saw the redhead gliding towards them. Liz hopped off her broom to be congratulated until-

"Elizabeth Potter!" Professor McGonagall was running across the grass towards them, her look one of shock. "Never- in all my time-" she seemed speechless. "Come with me, Miss Potter."

"It's not her fault, Profess-"

"Not now, Miss Weasley."

"But Malfoy-"  
"That's _enough_, Mr Finnigan. Potter, come." And she was off, marching back towards the castle. Liz sighed and trudged after her, broom and Remembrall still in hand. She saw Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle with very self-satisfied looks on their ugly faces. She'd get them later, it wasn't like she'd be in trouble for using magic after this- probably going to be expelled.

The professor went up the marble stair case, down a corridor, not speaking a word to Liz. Was it really that bad? But she'd heard of the McGonagall talks- perhaps it was best if there was silence.

The professor stopped at a door and poked her head inside. "Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, but could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

Okay, now Liz was beyond confused.

A burly fifth year boy, one Liz had seen in the common room, came out of the classroom, glancing at Liz in confusion. The confusion was mirrored back.

"Come." McGonagall was off again, down the hall; the two students were almost trotting to keep up. She beckoned them into an empty classroom, where Peeves, the school's resident poltergeist, was writing rude words on the blackboard.

"Peeves, out!" barked the professor. Cursing under his breath, Peeves left. Even he knew that you didn't mess with the deputy head. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to the two students.

"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a new Seeker."

Wood's puzzled expression immediately morphed into one of delight. Liz's expression became even more befuddled. "Are you serious, Professor?" he said excitedly.

Liz was wondering the same thing.

"I am quite serious, Wood. She's a natural; I've never seen anything like it. That was your first time on a broom, correct, Potter?"

Liz nodded, stunned. What the hell is going on here?

"She caught that ball in her hand whilst hurtling towards the castle wall. She pulled up barely in time without a scratch. Not even Charlie Weasley could've done it."

Wood now looked like he'd been given all O's in his OWLS exams.

"I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore about bending the first year rule, just this once." Professor McGonagall turned to Liz. "Now, Miss Potter; all I want to hear from Wood here is how exceptionally hard you're working in training. I expect great things from Gryffindor this year."

Liz finally found her voice. "Yes, Professor. Flying; training; got it."

As if recalling a memory, the Transfiguration teacher smiled. Liz was sure the day couldn't get any weirder. "Your father played too. Best Chaser of his time at Hogwart's. Don't make me regret this Potter; I'll have to think of another punishment."

* * *

"Seeker?" Ginny almost dropped her books; Liz had burst into the dormitory that same day after lessons, made sure no one else was in the room, and told her best friend the news. "But that would mean you're-"

"The youngest seeker of the century." Liz was hopping from foot to foot.

"McGonagall's talking to Dumbledore about bending the rules."

"And this is your punishment for flying after Malfoy?" Ginny said in a disbelieving tone. But her face quickly split into a grin. "I can't wait to see his face."

"No!" Liz jumped onto Ginny's bed. "Wood wants it to keep quiet- I'm their secret weapon." she struck a heroic pose.

Ginny laughed. "But you don't even have a broom."

"Oh yeah." Liz shoulders slumped. But immediately she brightened up. "Wait! I need to write to my uncles; I can tell them about everything and I can see if I can buy a decent broom." she leapt off her bed and, grabbing some parchment, ink, and her quill, ran down to the common room. She found a desk, barrelling towards it and plopping down on the seat. She smoothed out the parchment, dipped the quill, and began to write.

_Dear Sirius and Remus,_

_Hello from Hogwart's! I'm so, so sorry that I haven't written to you yet. I meant to but there's been the first week of lessons and homework. You'll be glad to know that I managed to make four firm friends before the 'Girl Who Lived' stuff got round, and made enemies with the entire Slytherin House. Which reminds me:_

_Mum: Gryffindor_

_Dad: Gryffindor_

_Godfather: Gryffindor_

_'Uncle': Gryffindor_

_Ancestors: Gryffindor_

_You do the math._

_The teachers. Well, most of them are nice enough; apart from Binns. How did he_ _die anyway?_

_One thing's for certain: the Potions professor hates me. Like, detests me. He looks at me weirdly, takes a point away for my charm, and another for not watching another student's cauldron in case they did something wrong._

_Flying. You were right, Uncle Padfoot, it's amazing. And due to a little mishap during flying lessons, while the teacher was... occupied, I have been named Gryffindor's new Seeker! Me! A first year! But I don't have a broom, so I'm going to talk to Professor McGonagall about that. She was the one who saw me flying, and me being a part of the Quidditch team is supposed to be punishment! Flying is the best invention of the wizarding world._

_Please write back soon, I miss you guys._

_Liz_

Liz hurriedly folded up her letter and raced out of the common room, bumping into another first year along the way; Theo Jacobs, or something. He had black messy hair and dark eyes which flashed with surprise when he turned around from his friends and almost crashed into her. "Hey, watch it, carrot-top."

"You watch it, nest-head," Liz retorted, and carried on towards the Owlery. Hurrying up the steps, and waving at more students (it was like a game to her now) she skidded into the tower-like building. Attaching her letter to a school owl, she said, "take this to Potter Manor, will you?" The bird obliged and flew off through the window.

Liz sighed, watching it go. It was true, she did miss her uncles, but she was so excited about… well… everything! "Life is an adventure!" Sirius would say to Liz on numerous occasions, as they ran away from angry prank victims.

She turned and raced back to the castle.


	10. Nimbus 2000s and the Marauders' Map

**Hello! Sorry I haven't updated for so long, I was away skiing with family. I swear every year a lift tries to kill me... Anywho...**

**In the letter, italics is Remus, bold is Sirius.**

**On the map, Bold italics is James, italics is Remus, bold is Sirius and underline is Peter (filthy rat! DIE!)**

**I don't own Harry Potter, all but Lorcan, Harry O'Connor, and Theo goes to JK**

**Peace, **

**Ciara xxx**

The next day was a Saturday, and for the foursome, that meant relaxing. Ginny and Liz, too hungry to wait for the boys, dashed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They were starting on their second helpings when Lorcan and Seamus finally arrived. Suddenly, hooting and the sound of rushing wind filled the air.

"Mail!" someone shouted and owls were flying overhead, dropping packages into waiting hands. Seamus caught his Daily Prophet, which he placed beside his plate. Ginny got a letter from her mum, via Errol the loco coco owl, as Ginny called it; when reading it, she laughed and showed it to Liz. Mrs Weasley had asked why Ron was going on about Ginny knowing the Girl Who Lived. Meanwhile, Seamus was talking to Dean Thomas about his West Ham poster which he'd received.

Just as Liz was eating her final piece of bacon, there was a familiar screech from up above. She turned her head to see a tawny owl flying towards the Gryffindor table, struggling with an oddly shaped package, and an envelope in his beak. Errol flapped up to meet his fellow bird and together, they dropped the package in front of Liz with a thump, and the envelope (seeming very deliberate) landed in Liz's ketchup.

"What in the…?" Seamus looked in surprise at the owl which perched on the table.

Liz sighed, as if she was used to this, and picked the envelope up by the corner. "Seamus, Ginny, Lorcan- meet Grouch. Grouch- Seamus, Ginny, Lorcan." Grouch surveyed them for a minute, then screeched, slightly startling the other three. "Yeah, he does that a lot. Doesn't half make me want to pluck his feathers out." The owl, to the others' great surprise, gave Liz the evil eye. Even stranger, she glared back. "Oi, I'm the only reason Sirius didn't boil you in a pot and serve you as dinner; don't you give me that face." The bird screeched in defiance. "Yeah, yeah, I know you hate this job, but it's the reason we still have you!"

The three first years looked on in befuddlement as girl and owl conversed. It seemed that this happened quite regularly. You see, Grouch had been the Potter's family owl for generations; apparently Liz's great uncle or something had put an age-lasting spell on him- he would keep on living until the Potters relieved him of his duty. Ginny leaned forwards. "He's quite beautiful, don't you think?"

The bird's head whipped round, but the redhead didn't flinch. He sort of hopped his way over to her, and cocked his head to the side. Then, to even Liz's surprise, he head-butted her shoulder. And Ginny giggled.

"He likes you," Liz stated in awe. "Apparently he'd only do that to my grandmother."

"I like animals," Ginny said simply, as if that explained it all. Grouch gave a less loud screech, and flew off. "Anyway, aren't you going to read the letter?"

Liz obliged, wiping the ketchup away with a napkin, and opened the envelope, which said OPEN BEFORE PACKAGE. She unfolded the letter.

_Dear Liz,  
Firstly, this is on the subject of Houses. Well done, Liz, we couldn't be more proud. Though we'd never be upset if you went anywhere else, we are a tad biased to our own House._

**YES! YOU GO LIZZIE! BEAT UP THOSE SNAKES!**

_Binns died of old age, probably; he was a professor and fell asleep by the staff fire. Apparently he just got up the next day and left his body behind._

**No, Moony, someone had enough of him and gave him a poison. He woke up and just carried on. He's weird, old Binns. But his lesson's good for quick kips.**

_Shut up, Sirius. Well done with the Quidditch, by the way. But a first year, isn't it a bit danger_

Here, the last word swerved off.

**Shut up Moony, this is brilliant! Our Lizzie's the youngest seeker of the century! Are you sure it was McGonagall, Lizzie? Was it**

Once again, there was a long line of ink veering off the page.

_Thank you, Padfoot. Don't grab the quill. Anyway, we know about the school broomsticks, and they won't last two minutes in a Hogwart's Quidditch match. So, here's something for you; think of it as a well done present._

**Don't open it in the Hall! Go up to your dorm and do it there; who knows how many Slytherins could be sticking their greasy noses into your business!**

_Hope you're good, and we're happy you made some firm friends._

**Remus! We forgot about the map! Lizzie, we need you to look out for a large, blank sheet of parchment. It was taken from us by Filch just before we left Hogwart's. We believe it will help you with your pranks. When you have it, tap it with your wand and say "Prongslet has found their father and uncles' map". It will give you instructions from there. Make us proud, pup!**

_With our lov_ **what?** **What are we, saps? Miss you loads, Lizzie!**

_Shut up, Padfoot._  
_Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot.  
P.S. Who's the Potions professor?_ **Bet it's Snivellous!**

Seamus laughed as he looked over Liz's shoulder. "Those two sound like a right laugh."

"Oh, they are." Liz glanced around, and saw McGonagall at the Staff Table, smiling secretively at them. She smiled back. "Let's go unwrap it." they got up and were hurrying out of the hall and up the steps, Liz slightly behind, when she had to run into two great thugs and a blonde boy she'd rather not see.

"Well, well, well!" Malfoy sneered. "What have we here, Potter? Why aren't you on a train back to London yet?" The other three glared at the Slytherins' backs.

"None of your business, Malfoy," Liz snapped. Suddenly, a beefy hand shot out and grabbed the long, thin package. "Hey!"

Goyle passed it to Malfoy; the blonde boy's eyes widened. "Oh, Potter; breaking rules, are we?"

"Give it back!"

Just then, Professor Flitwick passed the group. "What's going on here?"

"Sir, Potter's got a broom!" Malfoy was almost bobbing with excitement at the thought of landing the foursome in trouble.

"Oh, yes!" Professor Flitwick beamed up at Liz. "I heard it all from Professor McGonagall; well done, Miss Potter, well done! Now, Mr Malfoy, would you please hand Miss Potter back her broom? Thank you, and good day!"

Liz smirked at a stunned Malfoy and sauntered past him with her package slung across her shoulder; she joined the other three and they ran off, laughing.

Upon reaching Gryffindor Tower, they raced to a secluded corner of the room. They began untying the strings and ripping away the brown paper. When the final sheet was off, the eleven year olds stepped back in awe, glad no one else was around.

"A racing broom..." Lorcan said.

Seamus and Ginny simultaneously looked at the handle.

"A Nimbus 2000!" Seamus was almost dancing around the room.

Ginny surprisingly grabbed Lorcan's collar and shook him back and forth. "Just a racing broom?! It's the best broom out there to date!"

"It's beautiful," Liz murmured, running a hand along the smooth wood.

Seamus snorted. "Ooh, there's sentiment in this thing?" He poked Liz's shoulder. "I only thought it did laughter and sarcasm!"

"Now, now, Seamus," Liz said as if chiding a child. "Don't you know what happens when you poke at a Potter such as myself? I'm sure Fred and George would be happy to tell you."

"Hey, guys?" Lorcan was standing over Seamus' Daily Prophet. "Check this out."

The others peered over his shoulder. "On the 1st of August, there was a break-in at Gringott's Bank, Diagon Alley," Ginny read out loud in astonishment. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen was opened, but nothing was stolen, for the vault had been emptied that same day."

Liz jolted as if her finger were stuck in a Muggle socket. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen?"

"Yeah, why? Do you know that vault?"

Oh she knew it alright. She had been there when the vault was emptied.

* * *

As the weeks went on, Seamus, Ginny, Lorcan and Liz immersed themselves in the everyday life of Hogwart's. Ginny, Liz, and Seamus were soon known to have a laugh in class; Lorcan never participated in any of this, but you could often see his secret smile as his best friends caused giggles to erupt in every lesson. But they'd agreed on one thing: no big pranks until they got the map.

One day, after lessons, Lorcan and Liz were walking across the common room, trying to figure out where Filch must've put her uncles' map. But something caught her eye; Fred and George, sitting in a corner of the room, sniggering to themselves. Looking at a very big piece of parchment.

In a flash, Liz was in front of them. "What's that?"

One of the boys stood up in front of Liz, while the other muttered something under his breath. "Fire girl! How are you this fine day?"

"George, what's that?"

"How do you-"

"Ginny told me. Now, let me see."

Smirking, Fred handed over the big piece of parchment. Liz examined it, and forced herself not to squeal. "How did you get this?"

"What do you mean, Lizzie?"

"Don't call me Lizzie."

"What do you mean, Liz?"

"It's just a blank piece of-"

"Shut up, Weasleys." Liz whipped out her wand and tapped the parchment with it. "Prongslet has found their father and uncles' map."

The twins started; they obviously knew the Prongs reference. "Liz, even if there really was something on the parchment-"

"Would it really show itself to some..." Fred trailed off as writing appeared on the parchment. Liz tilted it so the twins couldn't read it.

**YAY! Prongslet found it!**

**_Shut up, Padfoot. Hey, Prongslet, Daddy Prongs here, with Uncle Padfoot, Uncle Moony, and Uncle Wormtail._**

_Hello, Prongslet._

Hi, Prongslet.

**_So, for the map, say "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" and to make it vanish say "mischief managed"._**

_We're warning you now that some of the passages aren't in working order-_

**Understatement.**

**_Shut up, Padfoot._**

_And Filch knows about four of them._

Filch hates us.

**Understatement.**

**_Shut up Padfoot._**

_We hope the map helps you._

**_It took us most of fourth year to get it working._**

_Me. It took me most of fourth year._

**Details.**

_Shut up Padfoot._

Tell me again why we used a Quick Quotes Quill for this? It's writing all this down! Ugh. So anyway, good luck, Prongslet!

The writing vanished and Liz tapped the paper once again. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," she muttered. The twins watched in amazement as the map of Hogwarts slowly faded into existence. At the top, was a coat of arms bearing a stag, a wolf-like figure- a werewolf, Liz thought to herself- an enormous dog, and a rat. Underneath, were the words "Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present the Marauders' Map".

"How do you-"  
"Know about-"

"The map?"

"It's my heritage!" Liz proclaimed dramatically, tapping the map and saying "mischief managed." The ink disappeared.

"Uh..." Fred blinked.

"Fire girl's gone lo-co!" George said in a sing-song voice.

"Basically, boys, this belongs to me," Liz waved the parchment around.

"You're taking it from us?" Fred said, surprisingly calm.

"Oh, well," George grinned. "We've memorised all the passages by now anyway. So-"

"Keep the map and-"

"If you don't mind-"

"We'll be on our way." The twins grinned and were off running through the portrait hole.

Liz blinked. Well. That had been easy. She called the others and, in what was becoming a usual place for them (unless older kids were sitting there) placed the parchment in front of them.

"Is that…" Seamus looked at the parchment in awe.

Liz nodded.

"Finally!" Ginny did a fist pump. "The big pranks begin. Hogwart's, you're no longer safe!"


	11. Meet Fluffy

**DON'T KILL ME!**

**Yes, I know I haven't posted in ages, but I've been busy. **

**...**

**That was a terrible excuse, but I'm sticking to it. Sorry!**

**Anyway, hello all! Enjoying it all so far? Good? Bad? Want to throw your laptop out the window? If yes to the first, great! If yes to the second two, sorry, but I'm gonna ignore you and carry on. We clear? Great!**

**You know the disclaimer. I own Lorcan, Harry O'Connor and Lorcan.**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**

"This sucks!" Seamus crossed his arms over his chest. "Why can't we go to Hogsmeade?"

"Because we're first years," Lorcan reminded him, not looking up from his book.

"How can you just _sit_ there?" Liz fell to her knees as if fatally wounded, supporting herself with the back of Lorcan's armchair. "The stories I've heard about that place, the times Sirius has rubbed it in my face…"

"Try hearing it from five older brothers," Ron grumbled from the other side of the room.

"I'll be hearing it from six next year," Ginny countered, but fell silent and turned back to the map as Harry came down from the boys' dorm, the latter clutching a piece of parchment and looking excited. It was the same as every other time when Harry was around.

"Liz!" Harry practically yelled. It was a good thing everyone else was either at Hogsmeade or somewhere else, or there would be a lot of odd looks.

"What?" said girl jumped up from her 'dying' position on the floor. The older boy surprised her by pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.

Harry broke off the hug, looked at Liz intently and said, "Christmas, 1984."

For a minute, Liz stared at Harry. Then, she began to laugh. Seconds later, Harry joined in, and they were soon two heaps of giggles on the floor.

"What the devil is going on?" Seamus asked Ron. The latter shrugged helplessly.

The two finally sat up and grinned. "I knew I'd seen you somewhere before," Liz gasped for air.

"Me too. Your mum was an Evans? Just to be sure."

"Yes!"

"Ha!" and he hugged her all over again.

"Can someone please tell us what's going on?" Hermione stood up, exasperated.

Harry wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "Liz's mum was Lily Evans, who was sister to Petunia Evans, who married Vernon Dursley, who was brother to Scarlett Dursley, who married Matthew O'Connor."

Ginny's eyes widened as she looked between the two.

Seamus was slowly realising as well. "So, you're related?"

"Yes!" Liz laughed.

"So, what's Christmas, 1984?" Lorcan asked.

"Well, Grandma Lottie, my mum's mum, she had some sort of cancer. No," Liz waved off the looks of pity, "I don't remember her that well. But she was really nice. She made Mum and Petunia bring their families to her house every Christmas, even after my parents died. Sirius and Remus would bring me along; Grandma Lottie thought that magic was brilliant, and Sirius said she adored me." She sat up very straight at this, clearly proud at this little fact. "She certainly liked me more than _Dudley_. But, when Petunia and the Dursleys came that year, there was another boy, about a year older than me, with a head of wild black hair." Harry grinned sheepishly. "I was four, and the boy was five. I never heard his name because the Dursleys called him 'boy' and when the others said anything to him, I wasn't really listening.

"There must've been a lot of magic in the air, with Sirius, Remus and me there. I regrew Grandma Lottie's roses; I remember thinking it was such a shame that they were dying, and I wanted them to live longer; so they re-bloomed. The boy didn't like the fact that they were pink, and turned them red, and I changed a few more of them to be gold."

Harry laughed. "Petunia and Vernon's faces! Dudley was so mad because I was doing something he couldn't so he threw the vase on the floor. It shattered and a piece pricked him in the toe; next thing he's on the floor, howling like someone shot him!" He shook his head. "Naturally, Aunt Petunia was so worried about her little 'Dudders' that we were taken straight home, and Petunia and Vernon whisked his royal fatness of to the hospital."

Liz was about to ask why he hadn't come to previous Christmas get-togethers when she heard a sharp intake of breath. She looked over at Ginny who was wide-eyed at the map.

"What, Gin-ack!" Seamus was being yanked along by his collar and the other two quickly followed.

It wasn't until they were halfway up the boy dormitory stairs that Ginny stopped, letting go of Seamus. The latter rubbed his sore neck.

"Okay, Ginny; what's up?" Lorcan sighed.

Ginny silently pointed at the map, at a passage. One behind a statue of an ugly witch. That led right out of the castle towards-

"Hogsmeade!" Seamus jumped up and down with joy. "Liz, I love your dad and uncles!"

********sagterg*************!"£%^%$"1**

Hogsmeade had been a blast. Of course, they were skirting round prefects and teachers half the time, but it was fun. They'd snuck into Honeyduke's and bought dozens of sweets, enough to last them until Halloween… that is, if they didn't give themselves a sugar rush first. Zonko's was great; though Liz still had her stuff from the mega deluxe set, she knew that you could never have enough stink bombs. In they went with the rucksack of sugared treats.

As they came out of the passage and into Hogwart's once more, Ginny and Seamus battling about the better hair colour, Liz tried to convince Lorcan that pranks were the best things since Quidditch (but Quidditch came out on top every time).

"But why?" Liz whined.

"Because I don't want to risk detention or expulsion!" Lorcan looked around. "I think we're on the third floor. We shouldn't be here."

"You act way too mature for an eleven year old," Liz sighed. "We will corrupt you!"

Lorcan halted. "Liz."

"I'm not kidding; we will corrupt you and bring you to our level!" Liz flung her hands out dramatically.

"Liz," Lorcan interrupted. "It's Mrs Norris." He pointed behind her and she turned to see a tawny cat in the doorway. It arched its back and hissed.

The four ran.

**456_36''+_/!'»D»»g\hh€dsd{wg|b`u}**

Seamus slammed against the door. "It won't open," he hissed.

"Move over," Lorcan shoved him out of the way. "_Alohamora_." The door opened with a click and the group slipped inside. Ginny immediately pressed her eye to the keyhole.

"See anything?" Liz whispered. Seamus turned to look at the room. And stopped.

"Filch," Ginny replied. "But he's leaving."

"Why would this door be locked?" Liz wondered. "What's in here?"

"Maybe because of this?" Seamus whimpered. The other three first years spun round.

There was an enormous mound of darkness lying in the middle of the room.

It was waking up.

The kids could only watch in terrified silence as it rose up to a towering height, and three pairs of eyes flicked open. Three noses sniffed the air in suspicion. And three jaws of teeth growled in unision.

Ginny, Seamus, Lorcan and Liz screamed and scrambled for the door. Once all four students were on the safer side of the door, they managed to shove the door shut- this was a big achievement considering that a Cerberus was trying to get through the door as well.

Once again, they ran.

**Yi)g; ?)h)HhNbGy;:e2w4yooh9ow9j,s7o£/£k£:s-**

The foursome burst into the common room. The twins looked from the corner, slightly bemused. They chose to ignore the panting first years.

"Three," Seamus gasped. "Three..."

"That was awesome!" Liz proclaimed. The others looked at her in astonishment. "I mean, it was scary at the time, but one of those ones you look back on and think 'hey, that was pretty cool'. You guys know the feeling, right?" She was met with blank faces. "No? Just me? Okay."

"Didn't you guys see?" Lorcan asked.

"See what?" Ginny raised an eyebrow. "The thing trying to eat us?"

"No, its feet."

"Why would we be looking at it's feet?" Seamus cried. "Heads- remember the heads!"

"No, its paw was on a door. A trapdoor."

"So, you think..." Liz trailed off.

Lorcan nodded. "It's guarding something."

"Or someone," Seamus added in a weird voice. The other three raised eyebrows.

"No? Too much? Okay."

***Dhjhds7zfjudjfjfrerujiubnfc***


	12. A Redhead's Temper

**Been a while, I know, but I've been working on side projects, and ideas are just popping into my head!**  
**You know the disclaimer, Lorcan, Harry O and Theo are mine**  
**Peace,**  
**Ciara xx**

It was a lunchtime, and the foursome were sitting out under a tree by the lake; they were making the most of the autumn sun. Liz, Seamus and Ginny were tossing a number of acorns they'd found in between themselves, laughing if one of them failed to catch it or it hit them instead. Lorcan sat reading, naturally. He looked really peaky, and Liz was considering taking him to the hospital wing.

"I'm sure it's the package," Liz insisted.

"You mean the vault that was broken into was the one holding whatever that thing's guarding?" Seamus asked. He lost concentration and the acorn Ginny had thrown him hit the Irish boy right in the centre of his forehead. The other three howled with laughter, and after five seconds, Seamus joined in.

"Hey, carrot top!" A voice called. Liz and Ginny turned at the same time to find the source of the sound.

There was a dark haired boy strolling towards them with a group of kids.  
Liz smirked. "What do you want, nest head?"

Theo Jacobs grinned. "The older years are saying something about a curse on the DADA spot, and us Gryffindors are placing bets."

"Placing bets on what?" Lorcan looked up from his book.

"Whether this one will make it to year two."  
"So you're coming to us because...?" Liz raised an eyebrow.

"I came to ask Finnigan if he would place a bet. You know what they say about the Irish." Theo turned to the boy. "Well? Most people think he'll make it about halfway through second year."

"What do you think?" Seamus asked.

"He'll probably walk in at the First Feast next year, take one look at our innocent faces, and run out screaming," the boy chuckled.

"We're kind of young to be betting at eleven," Lorcan interjected.

Seamus laughed. "Mate, I betted three boxes of Bertie Botts on the outcome of a Quidditch match when I was four years old."

"So?" Theo prompted.

Seamus tapped his chin. "I'll have to think about it, honestly."

"I'll place one," a voice spoke up.

Theo looked at Ginny. "Ginger snap, do you even know how bets work?"

Liz knew that Ginny never appreciated the ginger jokes. The young Muggles had teased her whenever she went into the nearby village with her mother. "I have six brothers. Does that answer your question?"

Theo shrugged. "So, what's it to be? Second year, Christmas? Halloween?"

Ginny snorted. "So much faith. I think he'll vanish before the end of the year. Five Galleons."

Theo's group laughed. "It's like she wants to lose," one said.

"They always last though," another replied. "At least until the end of the year."

Ginny fumed at them. "Well, if you're done then, can you morons leave us alone?"

"You know what my _dear_ mother says," Theo Jacobs said to his friends as they turned away. Liz could've sworn she heard bitterness in the phrase. "Blondes are wild, brunettes are true, but you can never tell what a redhead will do."

Ginny's complexion somehow delicately flushed a colour to match her hair and was flying towards the group with a yell, causing Theo to spin round. Seamus, realising what she was doing, leapt forward and grabbed her wrist, forcing her balled fist to stop millimetres from Theo Jacobs' face.

There was silence as everyone waited tensely to see what the girl would do next. As if coming to a decision, Ginny ripped her arm out of Seamus' grip and ran towards the castle, shoving Theo forcibly to the ground as she barrelled past.

Liz wouldn't have minded as much if the insults were directed at her, but when it came to her relatively new friends, there'd be hell to pay. Fixing the boy on the ground a glare that could turn a glacier to steam in seconds, she pelted off after her best friend. She faintly registered Seamus sighing behind her and telling Jacobs, "Now you've done it, mate."

* * *

Later that day, a black haired Gryffindor was seen hopping around the school- literally. His legs were somehow stuck together, and the seemed to be another problem: every time he was called on in class, he would open his mouth, and one of those sayings/insults would come out of his mouth.

In Charms, Liz watched in amusement as Professor Flitwick asked Theo Jacobs a question.

The boy seemed to think about it, then said, "Sir? How old were you when they finally let you on the rides?"

No one but the Muggleborns knew quite what he was talking about, but Flitwick knew exactly what the implications meant.

Liz had to admit, the Weasley twins were good. She was okay learning the one-legged jinx, but the second part required more... experience.

"Psst. Liz!" Liz turned to Seamus sitting behind her. "Seen Ginny?"

She shook her head. "I lost track of her in the halls. Even if I found her, I probably wouldn't be able to do anything."

Seamus nodded, then jerked his head towards Lorcan, who sat on the other side of the room. "I'm worried about our other mate. Looks really ill, a bit like a few weeks back."

Liz sighed. "Seems like it'll be just you and me for dinner, Seamus."

* * *

It was Halloween that same night and, as Liz predicted, neither Ginny or Lorcan were to be seen. There was a prickly feeling in both Liz's gut and her scar, but she pushed it aside to distractedly enjoy the feast set out before her.

After ten minutes, she couldn't take it. "I'm going to look for Ginny," she told Seamus, folding some sweets into a napkin. "She either eats this, or I drag her down here. I'll meet you back at the common room if I don't come back." And she was off, taking a left at the staircase.

But unbeknownst to her, minutes later, from the right, came a slightly red-eyed Ginny. She sat down in front of Seamus with a weak smile. "Hey."

Seamus looked up, surprise flickering over his expression. "That was quick. What did she threaten you with this time?"

Ginny frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Now it was Seamus' turn to frown. "Liz. She went looking for you with some food. Where is she?"

"Seamus... Liz didn't find me. I came down by myself."

Suddenly, there was a yell, and all the students turned to the source of the noise.

"Troll in the dungeon!" Professor Quirrell screamed. "Troll in the dungeon!" He looked around at all the students. "So sorry to interrupt." And fell into a dead faint, his face landing in Ravenclaw's treacle tart.

* * *

"If we wait for the teachers, Liz could be dead by the time they're walking out the door," Seamus said as the two sneakily slipped away from the frantic crowd.

"Maybe the door is an exaggeration," Ginny said thoughtfully.

"What? Why are you acting like this? All sensible." Seamus shuddered.

"Someone has to step in for Lorcan," Ginny shot back. "And now is not the time for jokes. Come on. Liz will probably be searching the girls' bathrooms for me."

They ran as quietly as they could down the corridors, checking all the bathrooms they passed. They didn't split up, for fear of more complications.  
Suddenly, Seamus' arm shot out and he grabbed Ginny, pressing them against the wall. Ginny was preparing to punch the boy, when she realised why he did it.

"Look at that thing," Seamus whispered, horrified.

"I know," Ginny nodded. "It looks like his loincloth could fall down at any time."

"I was referring to its immense size. And that club!" The troll trudged round the corner, but they kept their voices low.

"Looks dumb enough."

"And ugly."

"And strong."

"That might be a slight disadvantage."

"So," Theo said cheerfully in a low voice. "How are we taking it down?"

The other two jumped a foot in the air. Theo Jacobs raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here, Jacobs?" Ginny hissed. "Shouldn't you be off discriminating people by their genes?"

"I saw that you were missing your friend Mercy, and thought you could use a hand."

Seamus and Ginny looked at each other. Finally, the former sighed. "It's not like we can send him back."

"Fine. Keep up, Jacobs." The trio began inching forwards.

"I thought Quirrel said it was in the dungeons," Theo whispered.

"Well, obviously it's not there, is it?"

"Come on, Weasley, I didn't think it would get to you so much."

"Well, you should try and make a common sense line between your-"

Suddenly there was a very panicked cry of "What the-" and the growl of one large troll.

The three first years ran down the hallway and turned the corner to see Liz dangling in the air; the troll held her by her leg, bringing her close to his face, and sniffing her. Strangely enough, Liz was wearing pyjama shorts underneath her robes.

Theo took in the situation, albeit a little scared. "We need to find a way to get the troll to drop her."

Just then, Liz's body happened to rotate in their direction. "Seamus! Ginny!" she shouted. "And... Jacobs?"

But the troll was now aware of the other three's presence. It was at this moment that everyone, even Liz herself, wished that she wasn't as impulsive.  
The troll lumbered towards the trio, who remained frozen with shock. Upon seeing Ginny, it leaned down, and brought Liz up to his face again. Looking between the two, confusion spread across his face. He sniffed Ginny, then turned his head back to Liz, and sniffed again. In reply, Liz spat in its face.

With a roar, the troll dropped Liz who, luckily, wasn't far from the floor and conveniently had been held above Theo.

"I dare say your spit improved his smell, Liz," Seamus muttered.

"Thank you," Liz replied, untangling herself from Theo. "My saliva has been said to have magical properties."

"Says who?" Theo retorted, standing up.

"The Daily Prophet."

"Uh, guys," Ginny interrupted, "I think we can discuss this later."

The troll, having wiped away the apparently magic spit, was now angry. This fact was downplayed to a minimum.

"Okay," Liz said in a strangely calm voice. "What's the next part of the plan?"  
The others looked at her.

"Guys, you did have more than just to come look for me? There is a next part, right?"

Theo looked at the others. "Well... there wasn't really a plan in the first place."

The troll swung its club around, but compared to the enormous corridor, there wasn't really enough room. The club smashed into an arch, and stone rained down. The four students barely dodged the falling limestone.

"Well, we can't turn back now." Seamus began to run towards the troll. "Follow me," he shouted.

"Where? To our deaths?" Ginny muttured, but the three did as he said.

As they neared the troll, Seamus looked over his shoulder and yelled, "Slide!" Still running, he dropped to the floor and using his momentum, he slipped right under the troll, through the gap between his legs. The others copied him but Theo, the last one to go through, slashed his wand in the direction of the troll's legs as he slid past. The troll howled in pain, hopping on one foot and turning in a circle. But his balance betrayed him, and he went stumbling right into the wall, conveniently hitting his head and falling to the floor.

The four children stood there in shock, trying to take in what they'd just done, when there was a pounding of feet, and Professor McGonnagal, Snape, and Filch appeared round the corner.

The Transfiguration teacher let out a strangled squawk at the sight before her. The body of a fully grown mountain troll lay across the width of the corridor; on the other side of the unconcious beast, surrounded by rubble (most likely from the enormous chip in the wall) were four relatively calm-looking first years. She looked frantically between the children and the troll, before regaining her voice.

"Explain," she said in a deadly voice.

"Well," began Theo.

"I'm sorry, professor," Ginny interrupted, stomping on the boy's foot. "I was feeling ill, and went to the bathroom. When everyone heard about the troll, Liz, Seamus and Ja- Theo came looking for me."

"Why didn't you tell one of the staff?" McGonnagal demanded.

"Obviously the children wanted to have attention," Snape drawled.

"We tried to tell a teacher, professor," Liz said, "but you were all so busy keeping the other students calm, I don't think you realised we were there."

"Well," Professor McGonnagal sounded perplexed, "you were still very irresponsible. Not many people your age take on a mountain troll and live to tell the tale. You could've been killed!" The students glanced down, slightly ashamed. "But, for showing loyalty to a friend, and a good dose of idiotic bravery... Fifteen points will be awarded to Gryffindor."

The foursome looked up, astonished. The same expression overshadowed the Potion master's face as well.

"Now then," Professor McGonnagal continued, "off to your common room, the lot of you. And I don't want to here about any more of this." She gestured around.

"Yes, professor," the children chorused and quickly ran off.

"So, Weasley," Theo piped up as they rounded the corner, "have you let it go yet?"

"You wish."


	13. Quidditch

Chapter 12

When Liz woke up the next morning, she had to take a minute to think about what had happened last night. Well, to start with, she'd been dangled in the air by a foul-smelling mountain troll, then who to come to her rescue but Ginny, Seamus and Jacobs. Thank Merlin she'd been (accidentally) wearing her pyjama shorts when the troll grabbed her- that would've been embarrassing.

"Liz, the boys are calling us." Ginny yelled.

The two girls finally got downstairs to where their best friends were hopping around like madmen- well, Seamus more than Lorcan.

"Guys!" Seamus yelled. "You gotta see this."

Exchanging bemused glances, they followed the boys down to the Great Hall to find an interesting sight.

Red. That's what mainly dominated their vision. Everywhere they looked, there were ginger heads. People from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor- the entire Slytherin table all had their hair spelled red.

"What the..." Ginny looked at Liz, but her friend was looking somewhere else. She arched an eyebrow in someone's direction and cocked her head to the side. Then she slightly jerked her head.

"Come on, guys. Let's have breakfast."

Further down the Gryffindor table, Theo Jacobs smirked and turned back to his bacon. It was on.

* * *

"So," Lorcan said in a low voice, "how are you feeling about tomorrow? Nervous?"

Liz snorted. "I'm a Potter. I don't get nervous."

"There's a first time for everything," Ginny said absentmindedly, flicking through a discarded Quidditch catalogue.

Liz rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go to bed." She sauntered off towards the tower.

"You haven't finished your Astronomy homework!" Lorcan called after her.

"I'll wing it!" was the distant reply.

Suddenly, there was a thud near the common room entrance, a cry of surprise, and another voice muttering "sorry, mate". Seamus barrelled over to his friends. "Snape, Snape, Snape, Snape-"

"Stop repeating like that," Ginny interrupted. "It's weird."

"Sorry."

"Did you get them?"

"Get what?" Lorcan looked up from his book.

"My Exploding Snap cards," Seamus replied. "Snape confiscated them in Potions."

"Why did you have them out?"

"Well..." A small blush spread. "I didn't have them out. My bag fell over and they spilled out, then- something happened; a faulty set or something, I don't know- they start sparking and doing what Exploding Snap cards are supposed to do- well, explode."

Lorcan groaned and thumped his head against his book.

"So just now, I go to ask for them back, and I find him with Filch- Filch was bandaging his leg, and Snape was talking about heads and stupid dogs, so..."

"Fluffy," Ginny said.

"You think that Snape, a professor, is the one trying to steal the package?" Lorcan clarified.

"It makes sense. He's got that whole mysterious, 'stay away from me', evil, stick to the shadows thing going on, doesn't he? And he hates practically everyone- he was in Slytherin as well."

"That's hardly evidence, Seamus."

"Whoa, guys, hold up," Ginny held up her hands. "One thing: do we tell Liz?"

"Yeah, she's, like, the leader of us!"

"I don't know, guys," Lorcan shifted in his seat. "The Quidditch match is tomorrow."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Liz is probably nervous about her first match- we don't need to put more weight on her shoulders."

"This is Liz we're talking about," Ginny said doubtfully. "She doesn't seem like the type to get nervous."

"You never know," Lorcan shrugged. "My mum always says that life can surprise you."

* * *

The seven players, dressed in scarlet and gold, stood waiting for their captain. Meanwhile, Fred and George were dancing about, jumping from bench to bench.

"Okay, men," Fred shouted, trying (and failing) to impersonate Wood's voice.

"And women," interrupted Angelina Johnson, a Chaser. Despite the boys antics, she was smiling. Wood came in at this moment.

"And women," George agreed. "This is it-"

"Weasleys!" Wood shouted.

"The big one," Fred ignored his captain and spread his arms theatrically.  
L"The one we've all been waiting for!" His twin finished.

Wood glared at the twins, whom Liz was liking more and more by the second. "Shut up. And take off your wristwatches, you'll confuse Liz."

"It's the same speech as last year," George told Liz as he pocketed his golden watch. "We've heard it so many times before that we memorised it."

"Anyway," Wood interrupted, "Chasers, move fast, use our lead-on maneouver; confuse them, and score. Fred, George, Bludgers. Hit them like it's Filch's face; and keep them away from Liz at all costs. I'll defend the goals like I always do. Liz, we've discussed what you're doing. You clear?" Liz nodded. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

The stands were buzzing as everyone wrestled for a good view, talking about anything; but there was one topic that was running through the crowd like wildfire: who was the Gryffindor Seeker? Nobody ever saw the Lion's Quidditch team training and though they sometimes caught sight of a small figure zipping around the pitch from their dorm windows, that was all they ever saw.

"Good morning Hogwarts!" Fred and George's friend Lee Jordan was the commentator. "What a beautiful day to start the Quidditch season, don't you think? Today, our first match of the year is Gryffindor versus Slytherin!"

There was a loud uproar as the spectators cheered for their respective teams. The other two houses supported either one they liked- mainly Gryffindor.

"It's time for the teams to meet! On Slytherin, with Marcus Flint as captain..."

The Gryffindor quidditch team lined up at the door. The Chasers conversed quietly and Fred and George were laughing at something under their breath. Liz glanced at Wood; his face was hardened into pure determination.

"So, let's bring out the competition!" Lee Jordan's voice seemed louder now. Wood took a deep breath as the door opened. He mounted his broom and the others followed suit. They were lined up in number order. Wood was up first, then the three Chasers, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell. After that, were Fred and George; and at the end, was Liz.

"Playing for Gryffindor, we have Oliver Wood as Keeper and Captain!" Wood flew out onto the pitch. "The Chasers Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell. The Beaters are none other than Fred and George Weasley! And the new Seeker- what the- Merlin's beard, it's Liz Potter on a Nimbus 2000!"

The cheering was deafening as the Gryffindor team did a quick lap round the pitch. Liz grinned as she shot past Ginny, Seamus and Lorcan; she also smirked at Theo Jacobs' horrified face.

The teams formed around the centre and Madame Hooch was on the pitch. She motioned to Wood and Flint. "Captains, shake hands." They did so. "Okay, now listen up. I know exactly how your kind of games work, and I'm having none of it. You abide by the rules, or deal with me." She bent down to the Quidditch box Liz could've sworn wasn't there a minute ago. Three balls sat inside. One was a large Quaffle, and the other two were chained down, thrashing about as if they were alive. She unlocked the chains and the two moving balls launched themselves into the air. She moved to unlock something else, and a blurred bullet of gold shot up, moving around so fast that everyone soon gave up on keeping track- except Liz. She could be seen turning her head in all directions, her eyes fixed on a moving point.

"The Bludgers have been released!" Lee Jordan informed those who couldn't see what was going on down on the pitch. "As well as the Snitch- catch this, Seekers, and you end the game, winning a hundred and fifty points for your team."

Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle into the air, and the game began.

"And we're off!" Lee shouted. "Chaser Spinnet grabs the Quaffle, passes to Chaser Johnson- a fine girl for her age-"

"Jordan!"

"Sorry, professor."

Liz had to bite back a laugh. It was certainly one of the most amusing commentaries she'd ever heard. Meanwhile, Liz was zooming up and down the pitch. She was certainly confusing the Slytherin Seeker, that was for sure. Wood had suggested once in a while she fake it, just to keep them on their toes.

"Slytherin Chasers are close, and- score." Lee didn't sound particularly pleased. "That levels out the points to seventy points ea- wait, was that the Snitch?"

Liz had already shot across the pitch, dodging between the players- one of the Slytherins had actually stopped and was looking around- very unprofessional, Liz thought with a smirk. She was getting closer to the little winged ball, if she just-

_Wham!_

Liz's broom was spinning off to one side, its rider clinging to the handle.

"Foul!" roared the Gryffindors, and the other two houses. Dean Thomas was shouting about red pieces of cards.

Liz sat up and looked around, catching Wood's eye. He gave a thumbs up, and she returned the universal sign for 'we're good'. But as she did so, she felt a strange tugging in her broom. She frowned. She'd never heard about this before. But suddenly, as if someone had grabbed the handle, the broom lurched and Liz almost lost her seating. The crowd started muttering. What was the Seeker doing? Fred and George seemed to realise that something was up and were making their way over to her. But now the broom had begun to buck and Lix was struggling to stay on.

"What's Liz doing?" Seamus muttered, looking through his binoculars.  
Without warning, there was an almightly jerk, and Liz was dangling in the air, one hand fiercely gripping the broom. Shouts and gasps rang out around the pitch.

Liz was getting a bit worried.

Lorcan grabbed the binoculars from Seamus, but instead of looking at Liz, he scanned the crowd. "There!"

Seamus snatched the binoculars back. There, in the staff stand, staring at Liz intently and muttering under their breath, was the Potions Master.  
"Snape's jinxing her broom!"

On the pitch, Liz's fingers were aching now. She could feel her gloves slowly losing grip.

"Fire girl!" A voice called out. "Down here!"

Back in the stands, Ginny took a look at Liz, then at Snape. "I've got this." She pushed through the crowd and raced down the corridor.

Meanwhile, Liz looked below to see Fred on his broom. "What should I do?" she called.

"Let go!" he called. "I'll catch you; George is slamming some bludgers."

Liz forced herself not to close her eyes as she let her fingers loosen, and she dropped into the air. Someone screamed. But Fred was ready and raced up to meet her. Liz landed on his broom behind him, one leg on either side. She let out a small squeak.

"You okay, fire girl?"

"Fine," she forced out. "Just _very_ thankful I'm not a boy right now."

Ginny barrelled towards the staff stands, knocking Professor Quirrel in her haste. She was behind the stands, creeping along. Finally, she caught sight of a pair of legs, draped in black. It could be no one but Snape's. Quickly, she got out her wand and pointed it at the cloth. She muttered a word that her mother used to light the fire at home: "_Incendio_!"

"Hey, I think your broom's calming down, Liz!" Alicia called as she barrelled past with the Quaffle, a Slytherin Chaser hot on her tail. "George, if you would?"  
Grinning, George pulled back his bat and as the next Bludger came by, whacked it as hard as he could. Alicia went into a quick dive and the other Chaser was smashed in the jaw.

Snape didn't even realise that his cloak was going up in flames until Flitwick started dancing about, yelling at his colleague. After a bit of flapping around, the fire was put out.

"I need to jump brooms, Fred," Liz informed the Beater. He obliged and edged closer to the floating Nimbus. Slowly, hands on Fred's shoulders, Liz swung a leg over her broom and swung the other off the Weasley twin's. She was back on.

Suddenly, there was a flash of gold out of the corner of her eye. Without thinking, she spun round and was off; the Slytherin Seeker was right behind her. They were weaving all over the pitch, dodging between players, circling round the towers. Without warning, the Snitch plunged downwards and the Seekers impulsively followed.

The crowd roared as they were heading towards the ground. The Slytherin Seeker glanced at his opponent, but she was facing straight ahead. One last look at the ground rushing up to meet him, he pulled up; seconds later, Liz braced both feet against her broom, and yanked upwards. She was less than a meter off the ground, in some sort of crouch on her broom. The Snitch was meters away, but she'd have to be dangling off the end of her-

No.

Should she?

But apparently it wasn't up for discussion, because her body straightened up, and her arms went out- one stretched out towards the flying golden ball, the other to keep her balance while standing on the broom. A roar went through the crowd as Liz inched forward along her broom handle. She was centimetres away.

Suddenly, the Snitch vanished, and the crowd gasped as Liz lost her balance. Thank Merlin she was only a meter or so off the ground, and the sand was relatively soft. But she tumbled along and when she stood up, she clamped a hand around her throat.

"What's happening?" Ginny asked as she rejoined the boys.

"She looks like she's going to chuck some, that's what's happening!" Seamus exclaimed.

Just then, Liz brought a fist forcefully to her stomach and a small golden ball popped out of her mouth, landing in her open palm.

"Is that-" Lorcan gaped.

"I've got it!" Liz yelled, jumping up and down. "I got the Snitch!"

"The- the Snitch!" Lee Jordan shouted with undisguised glee. "Liz Potter has caught the Golden Snitch, grabbing one hundred and fifty points for Gryffindor, bringing the results to two hundred and twenty to seventy- GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

* * *

**Sooo, what do you think? Please review!**

**Peace,**

**Ciara xxx**


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